Leigh Leopards coach reveals fresh injury blow following Challenge Cup rout

Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam says he expects to be without Darnell McIntosh for a couple of weeks after the utility back was forced off early on in their Challenge Cup win against Batley Bulldogs.

Making his first appearance of the campaign having suffered a Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) injury during the Leopards’ pre-season training camp in Lanzarote, McIntosh had a manic 18 minutes on the field on Sunday.

Having missed a conversion attempt, one of Leigh’s doctors came close to withdrawing him through an issue relating to one of his eyes, and he then bombed a try with a misplaced pass having broken through the Batley line.

But the injury he eventually left the field with was picked up as he scored a try in the corner with a tremendous acrobatic finish which put the Leopards 14-0 to the good.

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Leigh Leopards coach reveals fresh injury blow following Challenge Cup rout

As deputy goal-kicker Ben McNamara took the tee, McIntosh remained down in a heap just off the field – and eventually limped down the touchline with the doctor in some discomfort.

Mouthing ‘shoulder’ to team-mates including Josh Charnley who were also missing through injury, Bailey Hodgson replaced the 27-year-old – and Leigh went on to record a very comfortable 62-4 win.

After that victory, which sealed a spot in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, Leopards chief Lam provided an update on McIntosh’s injury woes.

He detailed: “Our first thoughts were that he’d dislocated his shoulder, or he’d had a subluxation, which is when it pops out and then goes straight back in.

“We’re getting some feedback now that it may just have been an AC joint which pops up.

“That’s still a couple of weeks out, and it’s unfortunate for him.

“It’s his first game back this season after hurting himself in our camp on the very last day of the camp.

“He had about 20 minutes, and it was a crazy 20 minutes. We’ll just make sure we get around him and make sure he’s okay.”

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