Luke Hooley is set to made his Leeds Rhinos bow this weekend. Hooley, who signed for the Rhinos from Championship side Batley Bulldogs in the off-season, has so far been forced to watch the new Super League season from the sidelines after suffering ankle damage in training.
However, he is nearing a return to full fitness - but while this Thursday's Super League game against Castleford Tigers will come too soon for Hooley, he is being lined up to feature in the Rhinos' reserve squad that will take to the field this weekend.
They face Castleford on Saturday, and Hooley will take a significant step towards his first-team debut by making his reserves bow. "Luke will be playing in the reserves game on Saturday at Castleford," Rohan Smith said.
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"He started pre-season in promising fashion and had an unfortunate training injury, but he's had three months of rehab and returning to play so he's excited to play and we're excited to have him back playing.
"It'll take a while for him to get his game fitness back, but one step at a time. It'll be a few weeks before Luke will be ready to contest for a place but we have quality depth in my opinion."
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