Leeds Rhinos moved two points clear at the top of the Super League table with a 42-12 win over Bradford Bulls — but the victory came at a cost. Maika Sivo, the competition's leading try-scorer with 29 in 2025, left the field in the first half with an arm injury and was later seen in a sling.

Head coach Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds the early prognosis is a broken forearm. "He'll have scans," Arthur said. "He'll probably be looking at a broken forearm. Plate it, six to eight weeks [out]" (BBC Sport). The injury happened when Sivo attempted a tackle in the first half, and he did not return.

Six to eight weeks would rule the Fijian winger out of most, if not all, of the run-in. Leeds have seven matches remaining in their regular Super League campaign, and the timing is anything but kind. Sivo has been the competition's most prolific finisher this season, and replacing that output — 29 tries, more than many clubs manage across their entire back line — falls to a squad already stretched thin.

Captain Ash Handley, Keenan Palasia and Daniel Levi are also on the club's injury list, meaning Arthur is now navigating the title run-in without several first-choice players. Leeds sit top of the table, but the gap is slender and the casualty ward is filling.

For fans, the worry is obvious. A two-point cushion offers little breathing room with nearly a third of the season still to play, and losing your most reliable try-scorer — the man who turns half-chances into four-pointers — forces a reshuffle in both personnel and game plan. Super League's play-off structure (the top six qualify for the post-season knockout series) means Leeds are well placed to reach the play-offs regardless, but peaking in October requires a fit and firing squad.

The Rhinos still have attacking firepower. The 42-point haul against Bradford, a cross-code derby steeped in West Yorkshire rivalry, showed as much. Yet the manner of Sivo's departure — a routine tackle gone wrong, the arm dangling, the sling on by full-time — is a reminder of how quickly momentum can shift from scoreboard dominance to selection crisis.

Arthur and his medical staff will know more once scans confirm the extent of the break. Until then, Leeds lead the way, just with one fewer weapon than they had an hour before kick-off.