Jouffret injury not as bad as first feared, says Panthers boss Grix

The Frenchman was unable to finish the game against Featherstone two weeks ago after pulling up with a hamstring problem.

The 26-year-old broke through Featherstone’s defence late in the second half and looked certain to go all the way. Instead, he was forced to come off the field with his side eventually going down to a 22-12 defeat.

When asked about injuries going into Monday’s clash with Leigh, Grix said: "Louis Jouffret pulled up there so we’ll see how he is. He’s not as bad as first feared but he might miss the next couple.

“James Woodburn-Hall is close. He made the 21 [man squad] at the weekend but that was [because] you have to put a 21 in.

“Other than that, decisions to make obviously. There was some good stuff in there as I said. Improvements. It’s not to say it was perfect by any means. So the lads that didn’t play, they’re not out of the picture by any means.”

Grix also revealed that a few players had endured head knocks during the defeat at Featherstone. However, the extra week off has provided the Panthers with extra preparation time.

Grix added: “We had a few head knocks in the game, which fortunately, the lads all passed them at the time. But we’re going to be cautious with them as well.

“We’ve got the luxury of doing so with having the week off. We don’t have to push Cory [Aston] and Joe Arundel. We don’t have to push them overly hard this week with that weekend off. Bit of an opportunity to refresh before we go into another big one with Leigh.”

The Centurions were in action last Monday as they booked their place in the sixth round of the Challenge Cup with a 20-16 win over Bradford Bulls.