Leigh Leopards man set for extended lay-off after latest injury blow

Leigh Leopards playmaker Gareth O’Brien looks set for an extended lay-off after picking up a head injury in the loss to Wigan Warriors.

O’Brien failed a head injury assessment in the 36-28 defeat and that will automatically rule him out of next week’s game against Hull FC at the Leigh Sports Village.

However, it’s not the first head knock the half-back has picked up this season, with O’Brien leaving the field against Hull FC earlier in the year with a similar injury. As such, it is the club’s responsibility to fully assess him in the coming days and to give him the time he needs to make a complete recovery.

And, Lam has revealed O’Brien might miss more than just the one game, with O’Brien now a doubt for the trip to Huddersfield Giants in round 13, too.

Leigh Leopards’ Gareth O’Brien concern

“I think he might miss a couple of weeks now on the back of that,” Lam said after the game, per Wigan Today. “Obviously, he will miss next week, but it might be best for him to probably miss the next two or three weeks, so we’ll look after him as a club and do the best thing by him.

“He’s obviously influential with the way we play as a team, but we’ll have to power on without him.

“He’s copped a little bit this year, Gaz, but he’s a tough player and he’s liked by everyone at the club, he’s very popular, but it’s sad to see someone, he’s shattered in there, he’s like ‘I’ve done this again’ so hopefully it’s not too bad.

“I know he has been to see a specialist and everything was clear, all good, so this one, I think you’ve got to take each one as they come but, as a club, we want to look after him the best we can see he’ll definitely miss next week and probably two or three weeks now.”