Liam Sutcliffe remains on course to be fit for the start of the season as his rehabilitation continues to pick up pace.
The Leeds Rhinos centre is currently recovering from microfracture surgery which saw him miss the end of last season.
However, coach Richard Agar is hopeful he will return to full training early in the new year, which will mean he is in contention for the opening Super League game of the season against Warrington Wolves on February 12th.
"Most players will tell you they don't enjoy rehab and every time I see Liam we joke about it," Agar said.
"But he's making good progress. It will be January, hopefully early in the month and if everything goes to plan he's back on the field with us then.
"He's heading in the right direction and we've no concerns, just a case of rehab sticking to plan."
As of now, the Rhinos have picked up no further injury concerns during the opening two weeks of pre-season.
"Liam's the only major one. As is often the case at this time, someone is off feet for a day or two but at this moment in time, we have a clean bill of health."
That has made session planning significantly easier for Agar compared to last year when his squad was decimated through injury making training a legitimate challenge at times.
"It's easier doing it with a full squad of players," he said.
"I can say it with a smile on my face. It was difficult, if I had anything from the first couple of weeks, there's a good vibe about the place, the connections are good already."
