Jamie Jones-Buchanan conceded that the number of injuries Leeds Rhinos players are sustaining is a concern the club must look into after two more players went down on Friday. The Rhinos face a nervous wait on Liam Sutcliffe and Tom Briscoe after the pair were forced from the field in the victory over Toulouse Olympique.
Sutcliffe was withdrawn in the first half with a knee problem while Briscoe left the field with an ankle issue and departed Headingley in a protective boot. It's further concern for the Rhinos, who are already without key first team players in Jack Walker, David Fusitu'a, Harry Newman, Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer, James Bentley, Zane Tetevano, Alex Mellor, Richie Myler and Tom Holroyd.
That leaves the Rhinos woefully short of players and Jones-Buchanan admitted the club may have to investigate if there was a deeper problem causing the treatment room to be fully occupied, an issue that wreaked havoc throughout the 2021 season too.
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"Sutty has had a bad knee for a while," Jones-Buchanan revealed.
"It's been sore and we've managed that throughout the week. He's been limited in the training he's been able to do but a lot of our halves and pivots have had a lot of volume to get through. It compounds when you're missing Austin, Sezer, Myler and Walker. All of a sudden, those guys are having to train and play more and it gets to a point where they're breaking down.
"Ankle was Tommy Briscoe. It was sore before he went to catch the ball off the kick-off, he's gone to catch it and heard something pop or grumble. It looked pretty bad when he came off."
He added: "But it is worrying medically, you've got to look at it and wonder why so many players are in that position so early on in the season. Whether it's bad luck or mechanics we need to fix. But credit to our young buys, I can't speak highly enough of lads like Morgan Gannon, Jarrod O'Connor, Max Simpson, Jack Sinfield, some really important moments and plays at pivotal parts of the game."
Though several players are closing in on fitness, Jones-Buchanan said he would be inclined not to risk any next week against Hull KR.
"Some of them aren't far off but not close enough to worth risking for me. We can't risk bringing people in half-heartedly for a game and then see them out for another six weeks. We've got enough in there to compete and again, these aren't all my decision now, but if it was up to me we'd run with what we've got and when the boys come back they come back properly."
