On-the-mend recruit Kruise Leeming’s looking to make big impression when he makes his Leeds Rhinos bow

A freak knee injury suffered in training before Christmas will keep the hooker out of Rhinos’ opening “two or three” games of the season, coach Richard Agar has confirmed.

That is a sickening blow for the 24-year-old who is set to miss a return to his former club Huddersfield Giants in Super League round two, as well as Leeds’ opening fixture at home to Hull a week earlier on Sunday, February 2.

Leeming, though, is adamant he is prepared to bide his time now to ensure he is firing on all cylinders when he eventually pulls on a Rhinos jersey for his debut.

“I have just got to think forward and think about the long-term thing now and what’s best for the team,” Leeming stressed.

“Instead of rushing back and trying to get involved in stuff that might injure me further on down the line, I’ve just got to think about my own health and think about what’s best for the team.”

The England Knights man pledged: “I don’t want to be coming here to a new club and playing at 80-90 per cent. I want to be on that field at 100 per cent.

“You only get one chance at a first impression.

“If I am on that pitch firing at 70 per cent, everyone’s judging me at 100 so I need to be right to go.”

Leeming was preparing for the Boxing Day fixture against Wakefield Trinity when he was hurt in an indoor session two days before Christmas.

Having played more than 20 games for Giants in each of the last three seasons, he admitted: “It is just one of those things. It would be really optimistic for me to say I’d never get an injury through a full career and I have been pretty lucky with them, to be honest.

“It could be a lot worse. There’s a load of lads who have done knees and been out eight, nine or 10 months.

“I’ve been eight weeks so, hopefully, I’ll cut that down to six and then I’ll be back.”

Initial fears were the injury could be long term.

After a scan, Rhinos’ management were hopeful Leeming would be fit to play at least once in pre-season, but the injury did not clear up as quickly as expected.

Leeming will wear Rhinos’ No 9 jersey this year, but there are two other hookers in the full-time squad, Brad Dwyer and England academy prospect Corey Johnson, and half-back Richie Myler has filled in at acting-half, in impressive style, during the opening two pre-season games.

Recalling the incident which led to his lay-off, Leeming said: “I have just gone to step off my right-hand side and my knee’s just locked and it has chipped a bit of cartilage.

“It was a freak accident and it was one that hurt because it was the last session before the Wakefield game, but life goes on.

“It is part and parcel of the game.”

Leeming is receiving treatment and confident there will be no recurring problems. He added: “It’s the cartilage behind my knee, it is meant to be stuck to the bone, but it has just lifted off a bit.

“They need to stick it back down so, at the moment, I am having PRP (platelet-rich plasma) procedure.

“They go in, take blood out of my arm and put it into a cylinder; they spin the blood and it separates the white blood cells from the red blood cells.

“They take the white blood cells out and then inject that back into my knee.

“That reduces the inflammation, it helps it settle and rebuild itself.

“It’s over three weeks, that’s how long the injections take.

“After that you’ve got to build your muscles back up and your fitness, so I’m looking at around three or four.

“Hopefully, this works and I react well to this procedure, but nothing is won in those first three weeks.

“I’d rather do it now than at the back end of the season.”

Leeming had to watch from the sidelines when Rhinos beat Bradford Bulls in front of a full house at the Jamie Jones-Buchanan testimonial/Rob Burrow benefit game last weekend.

It was the biggest crowd at Emerald Headingley since 2016 and Leeming conceded: “It was devastating to miss it.

“I would have loved to play in Rob and Jonesy’s testimonial game, it was such a great atmosphere .

“When they ran out the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.”