HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS coach Jim Lenihan admits he is hoping that his halfback and captain Adam Clune will be able to return to action before the end of the season, as the bottom-placed club try to gain ground on the teams above them.
Clune suffered a hamstring tear in the Giants’ 4-34 defeat to Warrington Wolves on May 2 and the diagnosis at the time was that he would be out for around 16 weeks.
The Australian had led the team in its only two Super League victories against Wigan (his first game of the year, on March 28) and York before suffering his injury in his fifth game of the season.
“I reckon if we had had Adam Clune available for the three (recent) games against Hull FC, against St Helens and Wakefield that we would have won those three games or perhaps two out of those three,” said Lenihan, who lost Oliver Russell to an Achilles injury in last Friday’s 30-14 defeat to Bradford Bulls.
“And that’s nothing against the halves, Olly Russell and Tui Lolohea, who are playing at the moment.
“It forces Tui to play a game that’s not natural for him. Some halfbacks are really good at giving try-assists and other halfbacks are really good at making other people in the team play much better. And I think Adam Clune is certainly that guy.
“When he plays he is central to the team. He’s got the team on a string. He has a great kicking game.
“But there’s no use complaining and whingeing, but if Adam were to come back then I’m sure the results would also reflect his being back on the field.”
Lenihan is unsure, however, when Clune will return, explaining: “He had an eleven-centimetre tear of his hamstring. The last time he had a scan, it was down to five or six centimetres.
“He’s training really hard in modified training to try and get back on the football field.
“So he’s still got a bit of time off the field before he’s back on. I’m trying not to get too excited.”