Morale remains high insists Key as Leeds prepare to face leaders

THE injury list at Leeds Carnegie stretches almost as far as their winless start to the season but director of rugby Andy Key is refusing to use ill health as an excuse.

Alfie To'oala yesterday underwent surgery to repair a tear in his groin and is out for at least three weeks while prop Phil Swainston could be out for two months after suffering a hairline fracture to his wrist in the heavy defeat at Leicester.

Christian Lewis-Pratt (knee) and Lachlan Mackay (shoulder) remain short-term casualties but there is better news in the imminent return of Dan Browne, Scott Barrow, Kearnan Myall and Luther Burrell for Saturday's trip to London Irish.

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Leeds go into that top-versus-bottom encounter as overwhelming underdogs after a dismal start to the season. While Key is staunch in his belief the team's morale has not taken a battering, he is equally convinced the physical pain they have endured can be absorbed.

"The injuries are disappointing, but that's the whole idea of having a squad," he said.

"Our squad depth isn't as deep as it was last year in terms of numbers but we believe we have good quality.

"Nobody's getting carried away with being bottom of the table; we're not panicking in any shape or form. It's errors and mistakes that are letting us down.

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"If we can play that 65-70 minutes of rugby, channel all our efforts into that, then we'll be competitive again. We know where we need to improve and we're confident we will do."

Key is hopeful fly-halves Lewis-Pratt and Mackay will be available to return when the Premiership resumes on October 22 after the European break.

"Christian had a bad bang on the side of the knee. It was an innocuous hit and it's having an effect on the nerve more than anything else," said Key.

"He's found it difficult over the last 10 days to train and he'll miss the Irish trip.

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"Lachlan is another couple of weeks away from returning because of his shoulder injury but we don't want to keep rushing him back only for him to get injured again. It's a long season and we want to get to the bottom of it now."

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