{"id":773197,"date":"2026-09-17T03:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T03:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/773197\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T03:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T03:30:15","slug":"im-good-to-go-leeds-rhinos-second-rower-provides-huge-injury-update-ahead-of-play-offs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/773197\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I&#8217;m good to go&#8217; \u2013 Leeds Rhinos second-rower provides huge injury update ahead of play-offs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2400\" height=\"1753\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AM10495-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment- size- wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Leeds Rhinos second-rower James McDonnell has handed head coach Brad Arthur a massive boost after declaring himself \u2018good to go\u2019 for the Super League play-off semi-finals following a pectoral injury.<\/p>\n<p>The 25-year-old forward has been sidelined since August after suffering the setback in Leeds\u2019 Round 24 clash against Wakefield Trinity.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p0p9ly8c\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">BBC Radio West Yorkshire<\/a>, McDonnell opened up on his rehabilitation process and his absolute determination not to let that Wakefield fixture mark his final appearance in a Leeds jersey before his move to the NRL.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I made a point to get back\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Super League Dream Team reaction, England selection debate, and are Wigan Warriors unstoppable? \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FvHvwDgv2mE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Admitting the injury proved \u2018a little more troublesome than we expected,\u2019 McDonnell credited the Rhinos\u2019 medical team and the week off during the play-off eliminator round for getting him across the finish line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m fully expecting to play, we\u2019ve really ramped up my recovery,\u201d McDonnell told BBC Radio West Yorkshire.<\/p>\n<p>    Most Read on Serious About Rugby League<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the luxury of having the week off, we decided to ease back on the contact aspect of the recovery, so we eased back on it and put a plan together to get me right for that game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo yeah, I\u2019ll be playing\u2013I\u2019m good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With a move to join NRL expansion side Perth Bears alongside teammate Harry Newman already locked in for 2027, the forward admitted that the thought of having already played his last game for Leeds fueled his recovery drive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI made a point to get back and that not be my last game for Leeds,\u201d McDonnell added.<\/p>\n<p>McDonnell\u2019s return to full fitness creates a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seriousaboutrl.com\/brad-arthur-rules-out-leeds-rhinos-man-for-play-offs-as-injury-update-issued-118585\/#google_vignette\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">welcome selection dilemma<\/a> for head coach Brad Arthur ahead of their semi-final tie a week on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on his forward pack options, Arthur acknowledged the tough decisions ahead:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJames Mac will be back in the team, so one of our forwards is going to miss out,\u201d Arthur explained to BBC Radio West Yorkshire.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t like that part of it, but it\u2019s my job. All the boys have worked hard, but that\u2019s the fortunate position we are in.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>McDonnell\u2019s availability adds crucial work-rate and defensive steel to the Rhinos pack as they aim to turn their second-place finish into a Grand Final appearance at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789615815_661_srl-logo.png\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leeds Rhinos second-rower James McDonnell has handed head coach Brad Arthur a massive boost after declaring himself \u2018good&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":773198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-773197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=773197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/773197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}