Leigh coach confirms fresh Umyla Hanley injury blow following Warrington cup defeat

Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam confirmed Umyla Hanley had suffered a fresh injury setback on his long-awaited return, but the prognosis remains unclear.

Centre Hanley tore his rotator cuff back in January in a pre-season friendly against Warrington Wolves.

Three-and-a-half months on, he made his return to action as Leigh travelled to Warrington again, this time in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, on Saturday evening.

But he lasted just 25 minutes before being forced off with what appeared to be a shoulder problem.

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Leigh coach confirms fresh Umyla Hanley injury blow following Warrington cup defeat

Leigh went on to lose 24-10, and post-match, Lam confirmed that Hanley had again picked up a shoulder problem – albeit not to the same one he’d spent months out with!

The Leopards head coach explained: “He’s missed the last seven or eight weeks with a right shoulder issue. I think he’s hurt the other shoulder today, so it’s just mad.

“It may be an A/C joint or a rotator cuff (problem), it depends on the grade of it.

“We’ve missed Umyla and his presence, and his aggressiveness is what we’ve missed most so fingers crossed it’s not too bad.”

Elsewhere, fellow centre Tesi Niu struggled through the last half-an-hour at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Niu had missed the previous week’s 42-6 defeat at Warrington in Super League through a combination of knee and hamstring issues, withdrawing on the day of the game.

After the cup exit, Lam detailed: “He had a bang to his sternum.

“Hopefully he’s okay, it looks like he’s going to be alright through there.”

The Leopards have won just two of their opening seven Super League fixtures this term and travel to new boys York Knights next Friday night (April 17).