Leigh Leopards boss Adrian lam has confirmed that Australian full-back David Armstrong will return to the field this week after recovering from an ACL injruy.
The Leopards welcome Huddersfield Giants to the Leigh Sports Village on Thursday evening, a game that will partner with the reserve grade game between the two sides to form a double-header.
Armstrong has been missing since late June last year, where it was confirmed he had picked up the lengthy njury.
Astonishingly though, the former Newcastle Knights man actually played on with the issue for two and a half games, before leaving the field at half-time in Leigh’s 48-30 defeat to Leeds Rhinos.
The 25-year-old has been on the road to recovery since then, and will finally make his return, however boss Adrian Lam has not yet decided whether it will be for the first-team or in the reserves.
Lam will wait until the day of the game, tomorrow, to make that decision. He confirmed the news in his weekly press conference, stating: He [Armstrong]‘s fully fit and we’ll make that decision on… Thursday morning.
“Whether he plays reserves or plays for us, I’ll make that decision based off how we train today and I’ve clearly got plans for him, but it’s just exciting for him.
“We have missed him, he’s missed the majority of last season and he was playing some great rugby on one leg last year so this will take some time and it’s an injury where confidence plays a big part, knowing that it’s going to be okay and back into the contact part of it.
“He’s trained and worked really hard to get back to this point and well deserved that he’s back in the 21.”
The Leigh boss had nothing but praise to say about Armstrong and his efforts in getting back fit, but doesn’t expect too much from the full-back when he first gets back on the field.
He said: “It takes weeks to find your form and it’s all about confidence. People have forgotten how incredibly good and great he was when he was with us on one leg so it’s going to take probably the rest of the season to get back to his best form and if he comes soon, beautiful, if not, that’s okay as well.
“We’re here to support him as a club. He’s a popular member of the team too but he brings his X-Factor and speed, genuine speed so that’s something that we have missed and we’re looking forward to watching him tomorrow.”
Leigh Leopards boss issues Edwin Ipape and Bailey Hodgson update
Leigh hooker Edwin Ipape featured in last weekend’s victory over York Knights, but only played for the opening 30 minutes. Lam revealed post-match that, had the club had a fully fit squad, Ipape wouldn’t have been risked.
Commenting on his fitness, the PNG man said: “He’s just been hanging in there himself, he’s had a couple of niggly injuries and he’s not at his best at the moment but he’s a player that lifts the confidence of everyone that is in that starting 13.
“It’s a week-to-week proposition with him getting to his best but he’s probably four weeks away from being back to his absolute best.
“We’re managing that process too and just he’s shown a lot of courage to be a part of this. He wants to be in the group, especially with so many players injured and that’s brave and the courage that he’s had last week and the week before in the Challenge Cup quarter-final shows the player that he is and how important this club is to him.”
Another man who Leigh have sorely missed this season is Bailey Hodgson, with the speedy full-back being absent since round three after picking up an knee injury against Wigan Warriors.
There was hope that the former Castleford man could return this week, but the Leopards boss revealed that Hodgson won’t be risked until at least next week, where the club travel to Catalans Dragons.
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