SAM Burgess admits he does not yet know whether or not he will have Lachlan Fitzgibbon available for the Magic Weekend clash with Leeds Rhinos.

And he acknowledged the back-rower’s frustration following an injury-ridden period for him but insisted their plan to get him back to fitness was working.

The Australian made an impressive impact on the Wire side having joined from Newcastle Knights in the off-season, but the past couple of months have seen injuries get the better of him.

Fitzgibbon has played just 50 minutes of rugby in the past two months – he succumbed to a pre-existing back injury at half time of the Challenge Cup Final defeat to Wigan Warriors and when he returned from having a minor operation to correct that issue against Huddersfield Giants last month, he was withdrawn with a shoulder injury in the early stages and has not played since.

Magic Weekend has been a target for the 30-year-old’s return for several weeks and Burgess says he still could, but a final decision has yet to be taken.

“We’ll wait and see,” he said when asked about the prospect of Fitzgibbon returning.

“He is frustrated as he came here to play, but he’s had this little niggle that’s taken longer than we expected.

“We had a plan for him, and we’re on plan so it’s just a case of reminding him that the plan’s working and we have to stick to it.

“He’s a very intelligent man and he knows deep down, but we’ll get there.

“This week would be nice, but we’ll wait and see. I’ll know on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.”

When Fitzgibbon does return, he will add to an impressive breadth of options in the back row with England international John Bateman having recently signed from Wests Tigers for what remains of 2024.

With Matty Nicholson and Adam Holroyd having both impressed this year, it is certainly a headache when everyone is fit but Burgess insists he will keep planning on a week-to-week basis.

“These things figure themselves out,” he said.

“Touch wood, we’re getting a bit healthier but next week could be a completely different situation, same for the week after.

“I don’t make any long-term decisions because things change in the short-term. I stay pretty balanced and in the moment with selection.

“I’ve got blokes that I trust and rely on and that counts for a lot.

“At the end of the day, my job is to pick a team that will get the job done every week.”

Burgess confirmed there were no fresh injury concerns stemming from Sunday’s victory at London Broncos, with several players who were rested for the 36-22 Round 20 win set to come back into contention to face the Rhinos.

George Williams, Ben Currie, Matty Nicholson, Josh Thewlis and Luke Yates are all set to be available to Burgess having sat out the win in the capital, while Joe Philbin and Toby King both successfully completed returns from injury.

“Everyone is okay,” he said.

“Philbs came through well from his return, Rod (Tai) had a bit of a cut on his face but he’s fine. Everyone else is good.

“It was a small day today (Monday), a bit more tomorrow and then more on Wednesday before fine-tuning at the back end of the week.

“It’s all about recovery and then review on Tuesday, then we’ll have our major detail day on Wednesday.

“It’s a six-day turnaround and we’ve got a system for that which we’ve had all year, so we’ll stick to that.”