PAUL Rowley could be facing another long injury lay-off.

The influential Leigh Centurions hooker has suffered a recurrence of the shoulder injury that plagued him all last season and eventually needed surgery.

Rowley sees a specialist shortly - but he is expecting bad news.

"It feels just like it did last year," he said. "I'm not too optimistic.

"At a pinch I could have played on Monday against London but I knew the shoulder wasn't right and I didn't want to be the one to let the team down by missing a vital tackle or something like that and it cost us the game.

"It's the same shoulder I had trouble with last season but I could get away with a bit in National League One and keep playing. I doubt I could get away with it in Super League.

"There's a chance with a week or two rest that the injury could settle down again. It's all wait and see at the moment."

Surgery would mean three or four months on the sideline.