Frustration for Leeds Rhinos' Tom Briscoe as comeback is shut down

Rhinos coach Richard Agar has confirmed Briscoe would have played, as a substitute, in the game at Catalans Dragons 10 days ago, had it gone ahead.

The match was called off after Rhinos decided not to travel and, with the entire sport now suspended, it could be months before they get the chance to play again.

It is a massively frustrating situation for the 2015 Lance Todd Trophy winner, but Briscoe is determined to look on the bright side.

“Hopefully I might be getting a game soon, but we don’t know,” the former Hull man, who joined Rhinos six years ago, said.

“It is a bit of a Catch 22 - I can see the end of the tunnel, but it might be moved backwards. I’ll just have to see how it goes, but obviously the longer it goes on, I suppose the better it is for my knee.

“I can get in more work and make sure it is perfect. I feel like I am ready to go, but when a game is going to come, we will have to wait and see.”

Briscoe was runner-up to fellow winger Ash Handley as Rhinos’ player of the year last season, despite missing the final month of the campaign.

He scored 11 tries in 25 appearances before his anterior cruciate ligament injury last August and the 30-year-old is confident, when rugby does resume, he will be able to step straight back into Betfred Super League action.

Other options would be playing for Rhinos’ reserves or on dual-registration with his hometown club Featherstone Rovers, but Briscoe insisted: “I have been training for the last four or five weeks.

“I have done that period and come back fine, had no dramas or reaction to the training, which is good and all positive.

“These next few weeks, even without any games, it will just be getting better and better, so I’ve no doubt I will be able to go straight into Super League whenever I get the chance.”

Briscoe underwent a knee reconstruction last year and said the damaged joint “feels really good”. He said: “Re-hab’, treatment and everything has been pretty straightforward. My operation went well, I had no hic-ups or dramas and I have managed to get through the recovery process.

“It feels good and I am just ready for a game now. It has been a long road, but we are there.”

Rhinos’ players have been given some time off since rugby league was shut down last week, though limited training resumed - on a voluntary basis - yesterday.

Though the sport was initially suspended until April 3, the layoff is widely expected to be extended, possibly as long as May or June. Leeds were on a four-game winning run when the shutters came down to disrupt their best start to a campaign since 2015.

However, Briscoe insisted: “The mood is good. We have had a few good wins.

“It would be better for us to be playing, the streak we are on at the minute, but everyone’s happy.

“There’s that uncertainty that there won’t be any games for quite a while, but we will just have to wait and see.”

Rhinos had three games to catch up on, including the one at Catalans, before the sport was locked down.

“It’s not ideal, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” Briscoe added.

“They had already booked the Huddersfield game [postponed from round two due to Storm Ciara] in for a Tuesday, a bit of a short turnaround, but we are used to that.

“If they throw in some more [midweek games] at some point we will just have to be smart about when and where.”