Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has allayed major fears on star man Umyla Hanley but the Dream Team centre will still miss some time after Saturday’s injury in the Challenge Cup.
Hanley had his best-ever Super League season in 2025 but it’s been a different proposition in 2026 with the centre spending much of the year on the sidelines.
He returned from an AC joint injury on Saturday but lasted only 20 minutes before leaving the field, causing fears among Leopards fans that Hanley was set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Speaking to the media today, Adrian Lam has assured fans that is not the case but conceded that the 24-year-old will miss Friday night’s game against York Knights.
“We got him scanned yesterday (Monday), so we’re waiting to hear back on that, but that should be through by now”, Lam said, as reported by Love Rugby League.
“I think it’s good news in the sense it’s not long-term, but it’s still maybe one or two weeks (out), we’ll have to wait and see what the report that comes through this afternoon says.”
Lam went to add that it is ‘not serious’ as far as he’s aware but confirmed the club will know more today when the scan results return. He also revealed that it was on the opposite side, hence the injury timeline is not as severe.
“It’s on the other side. The first one, he had a small fracture in the collarbone. There’s no fracture this time, we’ve just got to work out what the injury is, I presume it will be two weeks out.”
Leigh Leopards boss shares comprehensive injury update
Hanley is one of many Leigh players who have had a torrid time with injuries and those injury issues have played a big part in why the Leopards sit on just two wins so far in Super League.
Bodies are slowly streaming back and that remains the case with Lam explaining that Andrew Badrock (shoulder) is the only man who is a long-term casualty, with at least two fresh bodies in consideration this week.
He said: “Frankie Halton is coming back from his failed HIA, and AJ Towse is in consideration this week.
“Keanan (Brand) rolled his ankle again last week, so that’s set him back two or three weeks. It was in training, just an accident, but that was the bad luck we’ve been talking about! He should be back in a couple of weeks.”
Others who are close include full-back pair Bailey Hodgson and Davey Armstrong, with Lam adding: “We’re hoping for Bailey (Hodgson) to be ready for the Catalans game (in Round 10) and Davey Armstrong maybe that week or the week after. They’re not too far off.”
As for Badrock, he confirmed: “Badrock is out for three-to-four months, he’s had a shoulder reconstruction. That’s a minimum. It’s unlucky for him, we had big plans for him this year, but it wasn’t to be.”
