Leeds Rhinos news: forward suffers long-term injury blow as teammate's Castleford Tigers loan not renewed
A Leeds Rhinos forward is facing a long spell out of action after being hurt playing on loan for a rival club.
Most of the players not on duty in the Betfred Super League fixture at Wigan Warriors on Friday will play for Leeds’ reserves away to Hull FC the same evening. That includes prop Tom Nicholson-Watton whose most recent appearance was on loan for Castleford Tigers during their 50-6 drubbing at Hull KR in the previous Super League round.
Fellow forward Ben Littlewood suffered a hand injury playing on loan for York Knights at St Helens two weeks ago and is facing a couple of months of the casualty list. Coach Brad Arthur said: “We have got a reserve game on Friday.
“The only guys out on loan this week are the two at Hull [Ethan O’Neill and Jeremiah Mata’utia] and the others will play reserves. Ben got a scaphoid injury in York’s last game and he is probably looking at around eight weeks.”
Littlewood played twice for Leeds at the start of the season - including the 58-6 thrashing of Hull KR at Las Vegas in February - and has featured three times with York. Arthur admitted the injury is a setback when the 21-year-old was getting weekly top-flight rugby.
“That was the idea of it, to get him some regular rugby week-to-week, get his body hardened and get him ready for an opportunity,” he said. “It’s just the way it is, you can’t do much about it; it is a contact sport and Ben plays the game tough.
“He got the benefit of those games and understands the risks involved with it. Now he just has to get himself right for eight weeks’ time and put himself back in the frame.”