Leeds’ hopes of winning an eighth Grand Final have been dented after Stevie Ward was ruled out of Saturday’s showpiece event with Castleford.
The back-rower dislocated his shoulder in the Rhinos’ semi-final victory over Hull FC after he required gas and air to put it back in place.
Ward saw a specialist on Monday, with the outcome of that consultation confirming he would be unavailable for Saturday’s final at Old Trafford.
“They couldn’t get the shoulder back in on Friday so they had to keep him in and do it with gas and air,” the Leeds head coach McDermott said.
“Obviously he’s in a bad way but he turned up this morning and I don’t think long-term it will be too bad.”
It leaves McDermott without two of his senior back-row forwards for the match with Castleford, with Brett Delaney previously being ruled out after suffering a hamstring injury in their final Super 8s match with Huddersfield.
Ward has made 25 appearances for the Rhinos this year, while Delaney has made 17, leaving McDermott with plenty to consider ahead of Saturday’s contest.