 Sinfield played the entire match despite his 20th-minute injury |
Leeds Rhinos skipper Kevin Sinfield is to undergo scans after suffering a suspected fractured cheekbone. He was injured in a clash of heads with Maurie Fa'asavalu during Leeds' vital 18-10 win over title rivals St Helens. Rhinos coach Brian McClennan said: "If it is a fractured cheekbone, he will have to have an operation." Leeds are on the verge of winning the Super League Leaders Shield but losing Sinfield for the play-offs would be a major blow to their title defence. The Rhinos only have to avoid a heavy defeat at lowly Salford next week to end Saints' hopes of finishing top of the table for a fifth successive season. Sinfield was injured 20 minutes into Friday's win over match but he stayed on to the end, superbly marshalling his troops and kicking the clinching penalty four minutes from time. "Kev wanted to finish the game and I thought some of his kicking for field position was outstanding," said McClennan.  | 606: DEBATE |
"We ended up with the spoils but haven't won anything yet. We've got to go Salford next week and finish the job." On top of the worry over Sinfield, Leeds will be anxiously monitoring the Rugby League's match review panel on Monday as they prepare to look into a couple of unsavoury incidents in the Saints game. Second rower Jamie Jones-Buchanan was put on report for an alleged "chicken-wing" tackle on Saints prop James Graham, while centre Keith Senior will be hoping his sin-binning will be sufficient punishment for punching his former England team-mate Jon Wilkin. St Helens coach Mick Potter was upset over the incident which left Graham with a shoulder injury, and admitted tension had been running high among his players. "They're a little bit frustrated because they put in a lot of effort," he said.
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