Leigh Leopards receive injury boost ahead of Wigan Warriors clash as fresh setback revealed

Leigh Leopards will see Frankie Halton return against Wigan Warriors and Umyla Hanley is nearing his first appearance of the year, but Aaron Pene has suffered a setback.

The Leopards were beaten 20-18 at St Helens last weekend, suffering their first loss of the year, and travel to neighbours Wigan for the latest instalment of the ‘Battle of the Borough’ on Thursday night.

It’s a healthy injury picture overall within Adrian Lam’s squad, with centre Hanley the main absentee.

Ex-Wigan youngster Hanley picked up an A/C joint injury during Leigh’s pre-season defeat at Warrington Wolves, and hasn’t been able to make it onto the field since then.

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Leigh Leopards receive injury boost ahead of Wigan Warriors clash as fresh setback revealed

Lam was without back-rower Halton for last weekend’s game at Saints after he suffered back problems in the build-up to that Round 2 clash.

But there is good news where he’s concerned, and it would appear team-mate Hanley isn’t far away from a return, either.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the Leopards head coach detailed: “I think Frankie will be alright and Isaac Liu will come back into that starting 13.

“That’s about it at this point, Umyla willl probably miss out at this point, but he’s getting closer.

“It’s just ongoing week-to-week, we think he’s close and then it flares up again. He’s in consideration and we’ll give him up until kick-off, but he’ll probably not be involved at this point.

“If he’s not 100% right or close enough to that, we won’t select him. He’s an important part of our team and he’s missed the first couple of games, so we’ve survived without him and we’ll power on.”

Notably, Leigh’s 21-man squad for the trip to Wigan again saw Pene excluded. Having joined midway through the 2024 campaign, injuries have plagued the off-contract prop’s time with the club so far.

Playing just ten games across all competitions last term, Pene has been nursing a calf strain suffered in January during pre-season for the last few weeks.

Lam explained: “Aaron’s not in the 21 this week.

“There have been some issues there with a minor injury that’s over-complicated again, so that’s going to be delayed a bit.”