Setback for Leeds Rhinos as Jack Walker faces three more weeks on injury list

Rhinos had hoped to have Walker, who suffered a fractured foot against Warrington Wolves on February 28, back on the field by now, but coach Richard Agar revealed he is facing another two or three weeks on the sidelines.

“Jack trained a couple of weeks ago and we thought he was going to be close to selection, but he had a bit of a reaction and soreness in his foot,” Agar said.

“He has had a couple of little injections in there to help him along the way and he’ll probably be another two or three weeks, which is a bit of a setback for us, but given the magnitude and type of injury there was always going to be some unknown until he got back on the field and started running again. It is a slight reaction, but nothing to majorly concern us in the long run.”

Walker’s absence means specialist half-back Richie Myler is set to continue in the number one role against Huddersfield Giants on Friday.

Myler scored a hat-trick in Rhinos’ most recent game, a 50-12 win over Salford Red Devils on August 29 and signed a new two-year contract last week. Agar will have a decision to make when Walker is available, but he insisted: “It is great for us if we’ve got a player of such high quality as Jack coming back into our team and we have a selection issue because the guy in the shirt is performing to such a standard it gives us a bit of a headache thinking about it.

“It is a wonderful spot, competition for places creates a great culture in your club and hopefully it shows in a good performance on a weekend.”

Agar hailed Myler as “a wonderful success story for us this year”. He added: “I’m really pleased we’ve got him over the line on a new contract.

“His attitude from the moment we brought Luke Gale and Rob Lui into the club has been one of team first and he will play wherever we see fit and whether he has played hooker, half or full-back this year he has done a great job.

“His performances at full-back have been outstanding. When Jack comes back it will give us a headache, but they are better headaches than we had two or three weeks ago. I am more than happy to have a problem like that.”A message from the Editor:

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Laura Collins