'His aim's to be back for the last couple of rounds': Leeds Rhinos shocked by Kruise Leeming injury blow

Leeming limped from the field late in Rhinos' win at Hull earlier this month and has now been diagnosed with a stress fracture in a foot.

He has already missed two games, but coach Rohan Smith is hopeful Leeming - arguably Leeds' most influential player - could be back for the final couple of rounds of the regular season.

"Kruise has undergone some further testing and consultations," Smith told a press conference on Tuesday.

"He has a stress fracture in his foot so he is going to be [out for] a significant period of time there.

"It will be six-12 weeks, somewhere in there, I would imagine."

Initial scans failed to reveal the damage, but Smith added: "It was always a possibility, based on the soreness of his foot a couple of weeks ago.

"We've been very cautious with what we've done and it was still a bit sore.

"It's disappointing for Kruise because he has had some really big moments and big performances this season."

With eight rounds remaining, there is a danger Leeming's season could be over.

"His aim is to be back for the last couple of rounds, if at all possible," Smith said.

"At this stage, there's no absolute timeline.

"He is two weeks into his recovery so he may well be back in time, but those injuries will require further scans and a really cautious approach to progression."

Centre Max Simpson (ankle) and forward Sam Walters (knee) will miss Thursday's visit of Wigan Warriors after being hurt in last Saturday's defeat at Toulouse.

Smith said: "Max has had a scan and he's got a lateral ligament tear.

"He's going to undergo some visits to a specialist to work out what the course of action is, but there's a chance he'll need some surgery.

"Sam has got a unique sort of injury to his knee, it may be short-term or it could be more medium-term.

"It's something most medical people don't see very often - it's not one of the common ones.

"He'll visit a consultant later in the week and get a course of action from there."

Half-backs Blake Austin (calf) and Aidan Sezer (hand) remain on the sidelines.

Smith confirmed: "Austin and Sezer aren't too far away, they could be back in the next week or two, but we have to make sure they've done the necessary amount of work to keep themselves on the field once they are back."

The coach is hopeful full-back/centre Zak Hardaker (dead leg) and centre Liam Sutcliffe (illness) will be available for Thursday's game.

"They both trained well yesterday and today," he said.

"They should be fine."

Smith also confirmed Rhinos have not made a contract offer to hooker Brad Dwyer, whose current deal expires at the end of this season.