Leeds Rhinos' Harry Newman to miss Super League round one - but Luke Gale and Jack Walker could be available

Newman, who was hurt in Rhinos’ win over Hull KR on September 24 last year, is now running on an anti-gravity treadmill and ahead of schedule in his recovery.

But Agar said the centre, a member of England’s elite performance squad, won’t be on the teamsheet when Leeds begin their campaign against Wakefield Trinity at Emerald Headingley on Saturday, March 27 and insisted Rhinos “certainly won’t take any risks” with injured players.

“Harry won’t make it for round one, but he is absolutely flying in his rehab’,” Agar said.

“I am not a physio, but I understand the magnitude of the injury he had and I would look at him and say he still has a bit of a pronounced limp in there.

“But the feedback I’ve had from our high-performance guys is that’s not unusual and once he gets going you’ll see the change in him really quickly as he gets closer towards playing.”

Agar stressed: “I have to say, the kid has been truly magnificent in his rehab’.

“The way he has attacked his rehab’ day by day and the gains he has made in every other area he can, whether that be skill or upper body - he is looking an absolute picture - and diet-wise and sleep-wise, he is hitting all the marks.

“It is no surprise his surgeon thinks he is ahead of schedule, which is terrific.”

Luke Gale has had surgery on a pectoral muscle injury suffered in training last month and Alex Sutcliffe, Luke Briscoe and Jack Walker underwent shoulder operations in the off-season.

Agar said: “Luke Gale is a 12-week injury and it was around 10-11 weeks from the start.

“It is not uncommon to get an injury like that back in 10 weeks.

“His initial post-operation appointments with the surgeon have been very positive, but at the same time, we are certainly not going to rush him back just to get ready for round one.”

The coach added: “We would anticipate Alex Sutcliffe being ready to go and perhaps Luke Briscoe.

“With Jack Walker it’s probably too far out at the moment to say whether he is going to make it or not.”

Support the YEP and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news and the latest on Leeds United, With a digital subscription, you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.