Leeds Rhinos will be without Morgan Gannon for around the next six weeks after scans confirmed the forward has suffered a sydnesmosis injury.
Gannon left the field during last weekend’s defeat by St Helens and was later photographed wearing a protective boot. There were initial fears that he had fractured his shin, but scans have shown an ankle injury.
Gannon will be sidelined for an extended amount of time, with his comeback not scheduled until after Leeds’ one-week break at the end of next month.
Brad Arthur confirmed the lay-off, saying: “It’s a syndesmosis, and we’re probably looking at just after Round 20.” We have four more matches before taking a week off, after which he will return. Approximately six weeks.
“He experienced a lot of shin stiffness that didn’t look like a syndesmosis, and at halftime we believed he had fractured his shin. But he doesn’t need an operation, and he’ll miss five games.”
Arthur admitted that losing a player of Gannon’s caliber was a blow, especially that he had returned to regular play by 2025.
He stated, “It’s a blow, but it’s very difficult to go through a season without getting injured.” It simply creates opportunity for other guys.
“Injuries harm the team, but they are more disappointing for the individual. He was playing some good football and had a string of 11 or 12 consecutive games. But he’ll be ready at the conclusion of the season for us.”
On the day of the Rhinos’ showdown with Leigh, Arthur confirmed that attacker Cooper Jenkins, who has been the 18th man in Leeds’ last two games and played for their reserves, will step in and fill Ganon.
“Cooper Jenkins will return to the team,” Arthur confirmed. “It’s about getting game-time into the guys and Cooper has done a good job for us in the reserve grade.”
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