Leigh Leopards coach delivers Josh Charnley latest as full injury update provided

Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam expects Josh Charnley to be sidelined for at least the next four weeks, and has also revealed an injury blow to overseas forward Ben Nakubuwai.

Veteran winger Charnley had struggled with a hamstring issue throughout pre-season, but made himself available for selection ahead of last Thursday night’s historic 1-0 win away at neighbours Wigan Warriors.

In that season opener, the 33-year-old was forced off at half-time and was unable to return to the field, with Lam revealing that the club would be sending him for scans post-match.

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Leigh Leopards coach delivers latest on Josh Charnley injury

The Leopards‘ next outing brings their home opener against Huddersfield Giants on Sunday afternoon (February 23) live on BBC Two.

Speaking to the media – including LoveRugbyLeague – on Tuesday afternoon ahead of that Round 2 clash, Papua New Guinean boss Lam detailed: “It was a call made at the last minute (to play him against Wigan).

“I don’t really ever regret playing a player when we do have him available.

“We got a fair bit of feedback on it, and we thought it was the right thing at the time, but Josh has had scans yesterday and we’ll get that information back any hour now hopefully.

“It looks like he may be out four weeks plus from this point on, and we’ll make some decisions based upon the results from the scan.

“It looks like there’s some meniscus (issues) in there, and a little bit of (a problem with) the hamstring as well.

“We’ve just got to wait for the scan to come back now.”

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Adrian Lam issues full injury update ahead of Huddersfield Giants clash

Leigh will still be without Darnell McIntosh for Sunday’s game as he recovers from a Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) injury he sustained during their pre-season training camp in Lanzarote.

Fiji international Nakubuwai meanwhile spent the second half of the 2024 campaign out on loan in the Championship with Featherstone Rovers, but is contracted to Leigh for 2025.

The club have made no secret of the fact they tried to offload him during the off-season to no avail, but Lam has now revealed that the forward’s current absence from his squad is injury-related.

He explained: “Josh is the only one that’s out (from last week). Darnell is still out for a few weeks, and Ben Nakubuwai is out.

“Ben’s had some knee injuries, I think there’s a bit of cartilage there and problems with his hamstring, so that’s been delayed (recovering).

“He’s probably got four to six weeks to go on that, but he also has a pectoral tear, so that’s all part of it.”

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