RICHIE Myler is facing  up to three months on the sidelines after sustaining an elbow injury in York Knights’ Betfred Championship opener at Doncaster 10 days ago.

The experienced half-back was withdrawn in the closing stages at the Eco-Power Stadium as the Knights suffered a disappointing 36-20 defeat to the league newcomers.

Marquee signing Myler, who missed the Knights’ opening three fixtures through injury, will now be sidelined for approximately 10 to 12 weeks after undergoing surgery.

His loss will undoubtedly be felt by Andrew Henderson’s side, with the former Leeds Rhinos star having begun to form a blossoming partnership with captain Liam Harris in the halves.

Making his Knights debut against Sheffield Eagles in the fourth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup at the beginning of this month, he then came within a whisker of scoring a hat-trick against Oldham in their AB Sundecks 1895 Cup quarter final on his 400th career appearance the following week.

Henderson conceded: “He’s not in a great way, to be honest, he’s had to undergo surgery.

“It was late in the game, he’s just fended off an opponent and in the process of doing that he’s torn the ligament in his elbow.

“He’s going to be out for a number of weeks – it could be anywhere from around 10 to 12 weeks.”

The Knights however look set to be boosted by the return of captain Harris, who is in contention to feature against Toulouse Olympique on Sunday (3pm) after recovering from a leg injury against Oldham.

“So far, he’s ticking all the markers,” the head coach confirmed.

“Fingers crossed he comes through the rest of this week and he’ll be available.”

York Press: The Knights could be boosted by the return of captain Liam Harris following a leg injury.The Knights could be boosted by the return of captain Liam Harris following a leg injury. (Image: Craig Hawkhead)

Kiwi playmaker Nikau Williams, an option to replace Myler in the halves, will not be in contention until the end of April after receiving a four-match ban for dangerous contact during the aforementioned Doncaster defeat.

An unprecedented injury crisis forced Henderson to field as many as nine half-back combinations last season, but he insists that he still has a range of options in the position.

He said: “We’ve still got Liam Harris and Ata Hingano who can play there.

“Jack Potter, obviously he has gone to Newcastle but we have got that dual registration agreement so we can dual reg back from Newcastle if we need to.

“We’ve still got some half-back options there."