Leigh Leopards aces major injury doubts for Wigan Warriors clash
David Armstrong scored twice as Leigh Leopards defeated Castleford Tigers.
Leigh Leopards are sweating on the fitness of David Armstrong and Josh Charnley heading into their showdown with Wigan Warriors.
The pair have both been named in the 21-man squad but coach Adrian Lam has branded both as doubtful due to ankle injuries that have been picked up.
Leigh are already without Edwin Ipape, Aaron Pene and Frankie Halton, with the latter to miss the rest of the season as he requires surgery on a damaged pectoral.
But they now risk being without their in-form full-back and Super League’s all-time leading try-scorer, with a late decision to be made on both.
“He (Charnley) just twisted his ankle on the weekend and he’s been in a boot up until today,” Lam told Love Rugby League.
“He’s obviously scored the most tries in Super League and we’d rather him be out there, but he’s probably a big chance of not playing. We’re going to give him up until kick-off, and then we’ll make a decision.”
Lam added: “There’s some doubt on David Armstrong with an ankle and a cork, so a little bit of pieces moving here and there again for another week.”
Leigh’s season-ender
Halton’s season is certainly over after the injury he sustained.
“He’s going to be out and needs an operation. He’s going to be out for the rest of the season.”
In better news for Leigh, Robbie Mulhern, Jacob Alick-Wiencke and Andy Badrock are all available for selection after absences, though that would be flattened by the absences of Armstrong or Charnley, or both.
Leigh have named Will Brough in their 21-man squad, with the outside back likely to come into contention if either are unavailable for selection.
The Leopards are currently fifth in Super League after winning eight of their last night games, a record replicated by Wigan going into this battle between two local rivals.
Ipape’s absence is inevitably a big one, with Matt Davis and Liam Horne now set to be tasked with filling that void on Friday.
