Leeds Rhinos head coach Brian McDermott has confirmed that Germany international centre Jimmy Keinhorst will play no further part in the club's season.
The 23-year-old suffered a dislocated shoulder in the win at Salford City Reds earlier this month and it has now been decided he undergo surgery to resolve the problem.
Rather than patch up Keinhorst and see if he can play again in the current campaign the Rhinos have taken a long-term approach to his rehabilitation and have him fit for pre-season.
While Keinhorst and Stevie Ward will play no further part for Leeds as they attempt to retain their crown Danny McGuire and Ryan Bailey could feature in Friday's home clash against the Catalan Dragons.
"Jimmy's having an operation on his shoulder," McDermott told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
"We did consider giving him some re-hab' and getting him through to the end of the year without having an operation.
"But given there's only two games left plus the play-offs and the fact it might go again, the best thing is to get it operated on, so we can get him ready for pre-season.
"He is not having a full reconstruction, it's a tidy-up and he's having something put back in place but it means he will be ruled out for a number of weeks."