Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur is preparing to welcome back a cohort of injured players for Friday's clash with York Knights – but Mikolaj Oledzki has been ruled out of next week's trip to Las Vegas.

The England prop injured his ribs in the recent Challenge Cup win over Widnes Vikings and missed last week's Super League opener against Leigh Leopards.

While he has avoided the worst-case scenario, Oledzki will sit out the historic stateside clash with Hull KR.

"He doesn't need surgery, which is great," said Arthur. "But it's four to six weeks.

"It's not great news for him in terms of next week but he understands it's part of the game unfortunately."

Oledzki was one of nine absentees for the round one defeat at Leigh but Leeds have been boosted by the return of five players, including reigning Man of Steel Jake Connor.

Maika Sivo and Jeremiah Mata'utia are set to make their competitive debuts against York.

"I'm pretty proud of their efforts to get themselves available and in contention for this week," said Arthur during Wednesday's press conference. "They've got to get through training today.

Mikolaj Oledzki will miss Leeds' trip to Las Vegas. (Photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

placeholder image — Mikolaj Oledzki will miss Leeds' trip to Las Vegas. (Photo: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

"Maika will make his Super League debut for the club. Jake Connor will be back. Keenan (Palasia) will be back. Cameron Smith will be back. And Jerry will make his Super League debut for the club.

"Those five guys are handy additions to the team. Some of them might not be 100 per cent but they're good enough to get out there and play.

"They've pushed themselves really hard to get themselves ready to play."

After suffering the crushing blow of a serious knee injury on the eve of the 2025 campaign, Sivo has waited more than a year for this moment.

Maika Sivo is set for his long-awaited debut. (Photo: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

Arthur, who worked with the winger at Parramatta Eels, is prepared to be patient as Sivo looks to put a challenging period behind him.

"It's been tough on the fans and our club for him not to play but the people who have suffered the most are him and his family," said the Rhinos boss.

"They made the commitment to uproot their family and would have had high expectations so they're the guys that deserve this the most. Maika gets the reward of playing this week.

"The expectations aren't too great. He's going to be down on his fitness and hasn't played for a while. We could have put him in a reserve-grade game but I don't know if he would have got much out of that.

Ash Handley is on the brink of a return. (Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com)

"We need to throw him in the deep end and the boys will look after him. He's excited and nervous as well I'd suspect but I'm really proud of how hard he's worked."

Ash Handley remains alongside Oledzki on the sidelines but the Leeds captain is on course to overcome his groin injury and make his first appearance of the year in Vegas.

"He's a little bit cranky with me that I didn't give him the opportunity to play this week," said Arthur. "He's getting very close.

"He'll train today but we haven't considered him in the 21 because he hasn't done enough of a training load and it's too big a risk."