Leigh fear season-ending injury as coach delivers update on quartet ahead of crunch Wakefield clash
Keanan Brand in action for Leigh Leopards in 2026
Leigh Leopards expect Keanan Brand to be sidelined for the remainder of 2026, with Bailey Hodgson and Tesi Niu highly unlikely to play again this season.
Back in March, Brand suffered an ankle injury during a Challenge Cup tie against Hull FC, with his rehabilitation becoming complex and requiring surgery.
Having featured twice on loan for fellow Super League outfit Castleford Tigers, the outside-back made his long-awaited Leopards return on Friday night, starting in their 48-10 home victory over St Helens.
But his comeback lasted just 40 minutes, and having re-injured the same ankle, the Ireland international is expected to have played his last game of the season.
Leigh fear season-ending injury as coach delivers update on quartet ahead of crunch Wakefield clash
Having been plagued by injuries throughout 2026, Leigh – who booked their spot in the play-offs with last weekend’s victory – are already without both Hodgson and Niu.
Hodgson – who will join Hull FC come the end of the season – is sidelined after a serious elbow infection which required two operations, while Niu suffered a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury in early July at Magic Weekend.
Leigh had been hopeful both may feature again this year if they managed to get all the way to the Super League Grand Final on October 3, but head coach Adrian Lam has now tempered those expectations alongside providing the latest on Brand.
Speaking ahead of Friday night’s Round 27 clash against Wakefield Trinity, Lam explained: “Scan results are coming through today (Tuesday), as we speak. I’m waiting on that now.
“He (Brand) was obviously disappointed, he’s had a difficult year with injury and it’s gone from bad to worse at times.
“He’s another one of our key players that hasn’t played a lot during the season, but it looks like this maybe the end of this year (for him).
“At this point, it looks very difficult for Tesi (Niu), Bailey (Hodgson) and Keanan to return.
“We’ve got our heads around that, we’re preparing in other ways and we’re at ease with all of those decisions.”
If Hull KR beat St Helens on Friday night, Leigh will need to avoid defeat against Wakefield to guarantee at least a fifth-place finish.
The Leopards would need to win by 28 or more points to leapfrog Trinity into fourth place.
On his squad for the crunch clash against Daryl Powell’s side, Lam said: “Jack Ashworth has got a rib cartilage issue and we’ll give him up until kick-off to see what that situation is, so he’ll be included in the 21.
“It’s just then whether or not we decide to keep the same 13/17 or think we can rotate someone there for the betterment of our game.”
