LEEDS RHINOS will go into Thursday night’s clash with the Warrington Wolves without James Bentley, Nene MacDonald and Harry Newman.
The trio, alongside Mikolaj Oledzki and Luke Hooley, will miss the Super League opener through injury with head coach Rohan Smith explaining what the issue is.
“James (Bentley) has had a PCL injury to his knee, those ones are a little awkward from my experience in the game. Watching guys recover from them they don’t tend to go in a straight line like other injuries,” Smith said.
“He has progressed really well in the past few weeks but he has a bit to go then.
“Harry and Nene have still got a bit to do. They are training in the right direction and they are on the right track.
“At the back end of these last term rehabs it’s hard to be specific on the time of return. They are reaching milestones and progressing.”
Smith was also keen to stress the versatility within his Leeds side.
“There is a lot of competition and a lot of things to consider, but there have been a lot of good performers in their stints in pre-season. There were some difficult decisions,” Smith continued.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a quandary, I’d say its an opportunity through pre-season to get some exposure.
“I think what we see in round one might not be see what we see in four, five or 20 weeks time. There is some versatility there.
“This week I’ve been pretty settled on the team.”
