Major injury blow mars Leeds Rhinos Challenge Cup win at Widnes Vikings

Rhinos scored four tries to two to book a place in Monday’s Betfred Challenge Cup third round draw, but prop Mikolaj Oledzki went off with damaged ribs midway through the first half and is a major doubt for next Friday’s Super League opener at Leigh Leopards.

Loose-forward Cameron Smith didn’t feature after the break but is expected to be available for the game in six days’ time. Leeds already had eight players on their casualty list, though several of those – including front-rower Keenan Palasia – could be fit to face Leigh. Speaking straight after Saturday’s tie, coach Brad Arthur was unsure as to the extent of Oledzki’s injury, but admitted: “Looking at him now, he doesn’t look great.”

Smith underwent back surgery last year and the Cup tie was his first competitive game since July. Arthur said: “He was just a bit tight through his groin. We probably knew that going into the game, but we were a bit low on troops. He did the right thing, got us off to a start. He was prepared to go back out in the second half, but I had the confidence in the other guys and we’d only made two changes up to that point.”