James Bentley has got a "bit to do" before Leeds Rhinos fans can see him in action after Rohan Smith confirmed the forward is sidelined with a knee injury. Bentley has not featured for the Rhinos throughout pre-season, and was left out of their 21-man squad for Thursday's Super League opener against Warrington.
There has been no update on Bentley before now, but Leeds head coach Smith revealed in his pre-match media conference that Bentley will be ruled out for a while yet. He has sustained a knee ligament injury, and is not yet cleared to return.
"James has a PCL injury to his knee," Smith said. "Those ones are a little awkward at times from my experience in the game, watching guys recover from them, they don't tend to go in a straight line so there's a few things there. But he's progressed well in the last week or two, done some good running - though he's got a bit to do yet."
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Bentley is one of several senior players that will be absent for the opening game of the 2023 season at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. That includes frontline centre pairing Harry Newman and Nene Macdonald, who are both recovering from long-term injuries.
Smith confirmed both are well on the way to recovery, but refused to put a timeframe on either returning.
"They've still got a bit to do," he said of the pair. "They're trending in the right direction and are on track but sometimes at the back of these long-term rehabs, it's hard to be specific about the return. They're reaching milestones and progressing. But this week is very much about who is playing."
When asked if he had a quandary to settle on centres in the absence of his two first-choice picks, Smith said: "I wouldn't say quandary, I'd say opportunity. There's some versatility in our squad I'm excited about."
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