LEIGH LEOPARDS fullback David Armstrong says that he played four matches with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Armstrong has been ruled out for nine months after damaging three of the four major ligaments in his knee, with his posterior cruciate and medial cruciate also affected.
He was taken off at half-time of Leigh’s round-16 defeat at Leeds Rhinos after struggling for much of the first half of that game.
But head coach Adrian Lam had admitted in the weeks beforehand that Armstrong was “playing injured” with “two or three injuries”.
While there is no suggestion that Leigh knew the full extent of the ACL injury until after the Leeds match, Armstrong’s disclosure – made in a post on Instagram and later removed – casts further questions on the club’s management of their star man.
The 24-year-old Australian, who is in his first season with the Leopards, also featured in games against Huddersfield Giants, Wakefield Trinity and Catalans Dragons beforehand.
After being ruled out long-term, Lam said: “It was one of those injuries where we tried to manage it through to the end of the season.
“You can do that at times. It’s very difficult to not pick a player when he’s nominated for player of the month.
“We make sure we keep (in mind) his welfare and best interest, but he was scoring 60- or 70-metre tries.
“His mental toughness and resilience has been awesome all the way through this. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, the way he’s carried himself, playing through a bit of pain.
“You’ve got to work with the player, he knows himself better than anyone. Davy was always wanting to play.”
Leigh have been approached for comment.