Leeds Rhinos lose Keenan Palasia for extended period as League Leaders' Shield chase enters decisive stage

The forward sat out last week's win over Catalans Dragons with a foot problem, seemingly as a precaution due to the conditions at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

However, Palasia is now facing up to sitting out six weeks in a blow to Brad Arthur's Rhinos.

Ryan Hall also remains sidelined for Sunday's trip to Castleford Tigers with a similar issue.

"Keenan will probably miss six weeks with his foot injury," said Arthur, who expects to be without Hall for another fortnight.

"It's a blow but it's an opportunity for other guys. It's more a blow for Keenan because he was playing really well and starting to really insert himself as one of the best front-rowers, if not the best front-rower, in the competition.

"He was really integral in terms of our starts. Him and Mik (Oledzki) had been doing a really good job with our starts.

"He's disappointed but he'll work hard and get himself ready to be right within that six-week timeframe."

Cooper Jenkins suffered an injury scare in Perpignan after being left with blurred vision.

Having been examined by a specialist in France on Sunday and cleared to fly home, the Australian prop is set to feature at Wheldon Road.

"He got some bleeding behind his eye but he's had all the testing and is okay at the minute," said Arthur during Wednesday's press conference. "He trained today and will be alright.

"It was just a burst blood vessel but he had blurred vision so the doc went on the precautionary side of it. He had a couple of checks in France and has been checked since we came back. He's been given the all-clear."

Oledzki and Jake Connor have been managing knocks but both players are expected to face the Tigers this weekend.

Arthur is committed to playing his strongest available team wherever possible, balancing player workloads against the demands of a trophy challenge.

"It is and it isn't a challenge," he said.

"You're trying to give everyone equal game time and the same opportunity. As much as we all sit here talking about balancing out their workload, you ask any of the players and none of them want to miss a game or be taken off the field. They all want to start.

"That's a great thing to have in your club – but they also understand that any decisions I make are made for the benefit of the whole group and not just them individually.

"We're always looking at their game time. Most of our forwards have averaged between the 40 and 50-minute mark. We haven't had to push too many of them out to 60-minute stints, whereas last year Mik and Keenan had to do 65 minutes on numerous occasions.

"I think we've balanced it out pretty well. The buy-in from the team is good. They understand what we're doing and why we're doing it.

"They all want to play. While we've got that, I'm not going to stand blokes down who want to play. Even if they've got half a niggle, they know whether they can do their job. As long as we're not putting them at future risk, they'll all push through it."