Willie Peters has clarified the circumstances behind Mikey Lewis’ failed head injury assessment, following a collision with Leeds Rhinos’ Harry Newman at Sewell Group Craven Park.
The reigning Man of Steel was withdrawn from the field in the 28th minute against Leeds in Super League Round 17, and did not return to action under Category 1 head injury protocols.
He was forced to watch from the sidelines as Rovers fell to just their second defeat of the season, with the incident also ruling the playmaker out of this week’s match against Leigh Leopards.
Head coach Peters has explained the reasons behind the failed assessment, while confirming Lewis will be back available for the following trip to Catalans Dragons.
“He’s fine, he’ll be okay. He couldn’t have stayed on, he needed to come off,” Peters said. “Because the player is down motionless like that, that’s when the doctor has to get involved.
“It’s an RFL ruling, about being down for a certain amount of time.
“The doctors have got to make a call, and ours did. The independent doctor can come in as well. This was from our doctor, and we respect what he says and it is what it is.”
In Lewis’ absence, Peters has recalled Danny Richardson from his loan spell with Salford Red Devils after just one game. However, the head coach has several options for this week’s trip to the Leigh Sports Village.
“We’ve recalled Danny, and we need to make a decision on what we’re going to do in the halves,” Peters explained.
“He [Danny] wanted to go out and play, and he understands he’s a possibility to play with us this week. He’ll be in our 21-player squad.
“I’ve always said I want him playing, whether it’s with us or with others. He got that opportunity last week, and he’s in good spirits. He’s training with us and he’s in a good space.
“But there’s a number of options that we can go with. We can look at Peta Hiku, we’ve done that in the past.
“Jez Litten obviously played on the weekend. We can look at Arthur Mourgue.
“We’re just seeing what the best option is and what we believe for this weekend.”