Leeds Rhinos coach Brad Arthur provides latest on Jake Connor injury
Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur has eased concerns over Jake Connor's play-off prospects after standing down the influential half-back for Thursday's home date with Catalans Dragons.
The Man of Steel contender sustained a rib injury in last week's win over Huddersfield Giants, which is serious enough to end his ever-present record.
However, Arthur has stressed it is simply a case of managing the issue at a crucial stage of the season.
"He's a bit tender," said Arthur, who will draft in Jack Sinfield as Connor's replacement against the Dragons.
"He's been in every game so it's probably a good opportunity for us to sit him out. He wouldn’t have been able to do his job properly.
"We need guys close to full fitness and Jake's nowhere near. It's a good opportunity for Sinny. The times he's stepped in, he's done a really good job for us.
"We could have needled Jake up and got him through but fortunately we don’t have to worry about it."
On the severity of the issue, Arthur added: "We didn't even bother getting it scanned. Break, fracture, cartilage, it's all the same – ribs are ribs.
"It's a pain threshold thing. Ryan Hall's had one, Ash Handley and a few of the boys have had them.
"You can needle them up and get them going in a week or some might be two weeks. We didn't need to put him out there this week. We need to back the depth of our squad."
Presley Cassell was also conspicuous by his absence when Arthur named his 21-man squad on Tuesday.
Arthur is mindful of managing the teenager's workload after a demanding seven-game run from his debut.
"We've got a few forwards back this week and probably weren't expecting him to play that so many games back-to-back," said Arthur, who can call upon Tom Holroyd and Keenan Palasia this week.
"He's a young bloke and it's tough in the middle. He got bashed up a bit last week so it's good for him physically to go back.
"We've got our academy semi-final this weekend. It helps strengthen those guys and gives them a boost.
"It'll just be good for him to take a bit of the physicality out of it for a week or two. He's certainly proved that if we need to call upon him again, he can do a great job for us."