LEEDS RHINOS head coach Rohan Smith has given an update on new signing Nene MacDonald as well as club stalwarts Harry Newman and Mikolaj Oledzki.
The trio have been out for a number of weeks and months following their respective injuries, with all three set to miss out on the rest of the pre-season friendlies.
Oledzki will miss the beginning of the season after having surgery whilst MacDonald and Newman are still touch and go about making round one against the Warrington Wolves.
Smith has, however, revealed that all three are on track with their recovery, though a timeframe is still yet to be given.
“With long-term injuries it’s always hard to pick a date accurately but the ballpark figure is around those first few rounds and those guys are on track for that,” Smith told the Leeds YouTube channel.
“They’ve still got a lot of hard work to do for us to feel they’re conditioned enough to perform well, not just that their injury has healed but they’re ready to perform.
“Those guys are on track to my knowledge and we’ll be more accurate on the return date in the next couple of weeks once they’ve got through some critical milestones in their progression.”
If neither MacDonald nor Newman make it through to round one then it remains to be seen who Leeds’ choices in the centres will be following the departure of Zak Hardaker and Liam Sutcliffe at the end of the 2022 season.
Youngster Levi Edwards will likely slot in with another fellow teenager Max Simpson perhaps in Smith’s thinking.
