Darnell McIntosh prognosis confirmed as Leigh Leopards coach issues full injury update ahead of Hull KR clash

Leigh will be without Darnell McIntosh for the next six weeks or so, Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has confirmed ahead of Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash away against Hull KR.

McIntosh, who suffered a Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) injury during Leigh’s pre-season camp in Lanzarote back in January, returned for his first appearance of the campaign last Sunday as the Leopards beat Batley Bulldogs 62-4 in the Challenge Cup.

But less than 20 minutes in, as he dived over for a tremendous acrobatic finish in the corner, he picked up a fresh injury – damaging his shoulder.

Forced from the field, boss Lam detailed post-match that initial reviews had suggested the issue might only keep McIntosh out for a couple of weeks.

But that hasn’t been the case, with 27-year-old expected to miss at least the next month-and-a-half’s worth of action.

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Darnell McIntosh prognosis confirmed as Leigh Leopards coach issues full injury update ahead of Hull KR clash

Leigh, who remain unbeaten this year, travel to Craven Park this weekend for a Round 5 clash against table-topping Hull KR. If they’re able to pull off a win against the odds, the Leopards will reclaim top spot.

Speaking in Thursday afternoon’s pre-match press conference ahead of that game, Lam provided a full injury update with McIntosh joining three other key figures on the sidelines.

Lam said: “There’s still no Robbie Mulhern (calf tear), Frankie Halton (groin), Josh Charnley (knee) or Darnell McIntosh (shoulder).

“It’s sad news for Darnell. He was probably one of our best pre-season trainers, but hurt himself on the last day of our camp.

“He did some really good stuff in the time (he was on the pitch against Batley), but he scored a try and popped his A/C joint.

“That’ll be anywhere between four and eight weeks out with that, so he’s going to miss out. We think it’ll be around six weeks.

“Robbie (Mulhern) and Frankie (Halton) will be back within the next week or two hopefully, and (Josh) Charnley won’t be too far off the back of that.

“Gaz O’Brien will return (having passed the concussion protocols) this weekend.”

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