Leeds Rhinos injury blow - skipper Luke Gale could miss Super League opener

Leeds Rhinos' captain Luke Gale is in a race against time to be fit for the start of the season - but coach Richard Agar is confident a training injury will not keep him out of action for long.

The hugely influential half-back tore a pectoral muscle - connecting the chest with the bones of the upper arm and shoulder - lifting weights in the gym earlier this week.

He is set to undergo surgery next Wednesday and likely to be on the casualty list for around 10 weeks.

The 2021 Betfred Super League campaign is due to start in nine weeks' time, on March 11.

Rhinos began pre-season training on Monday and while the injury is a setback, the timing means he is likely to miss only a limited number of games.

Agar said: "His enthusiasm, I guess, got the better of him in the gym.

"He has torn his pec', through lifting in the gym.

"It's one of those things, he was fully warmed-up and not really over-doing it weight-wise.

"It's a really tough one to happen in the first couple of days, but I guess if it is going to happen, it is better happening now so we can get it fixed up."

The coach added: "It is a sort of three-month injury, but once we get his operation done there's a possibility nine or 10 weeks is the target.

"He is a good healer and he will tick every box.

"After the initial disappointment, he has got his head round it, we all have.

"It is going to be unlikely he makes the start of the year, but he won't be too far off."

Richie Myler - who impressed as a makeshift full-back after Jack Walker was injured last year - could step in for Gale.

Another of their half-backs, Callum McLelland, is recovering from off-season surgery and expected to begin training next week.

Gale was third in Rhinos' player of the year voting last term, his first with his home city club following a move from Castleford Tigers.

He missed all of Tigers' 2019 campaign after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in pre-season.

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