THE Roughyeds' injury jinx has struck again and, unless there's a miraculous recovery in the next couple of days, Oldham Rugby League Club will be going to Doncaster on Sunday (3pm) without in-form winger Liam Copland, who is suffering with damaged ligaments in his back.

He won his place on the right wing - and quickly earned the plaudits of head coach Stu Littler - when early-season first choice Tommy Brierley broke a leg and wrecked a knee against Keighley Cougars on the opening day of the Betfred League One campaign.

Brierley has since been ruled out for the season and Littler was looking to Copland as his long-term replacement.

'Coppy' did all that was expected of him, and more, in his first three games -- and in his fourth, against Cornwall last Sunday, he stood out spectacularly in his short time on the field before falling awkwardly in a tackle and damaging his back.

Gingerly, and clearly in a lot of distress, he was led from the pitch and the word from the Roughyeds camp several days later is that he is "very unlikely" to play at Doncaster.

It's the latest injury setback for Littler, who has had Sean Slater (knee) and Jason Muranka (concussion) out for weeks and who now has to come to terms with losing Tommy Brierley for the rest of 2022.

On top of all that, centre Calvin Wellington has managed only a few minutes of league action so far, due to a stomach complaint, and on-loan Wigan pair Logan Astley and Tom Forber have been recalled by their parent club.

On a brighter note, second-row forward Muranka has finally been given the green light to resume training and hooker Brad Jinks came successfully through the Cornwall game after missing the two previous encounters with groin trouble.

Resolute as ever, Littler believes his men can win at Donny if they continue to show the improvements they enjoyed for all but a 'dodgy' quarter of hour in the second half against Cornwall.

"We're a work in progress, but we're getting there," he said.

What of The Dons ? One would expect coach Richard Horne to say something similar.

They are one point and one place better off than Oldham (fifth and sixth out of 11) and although they've won three and lost the other two, two of their victories were against non-heartland teams, Cornwall and Midlands Hurricanes, while the other was handed to them, together with a 48-0 score, because West Wales Raiders couldn't provide suitable medical cover for the game to take place.

The Dons have strengthened this week by signing forwards Pat O'Donovan from Bradford and Louis McConnell from Featherstone on loan - maybe a hint that Horne felt a real need to bolster his pack.

Like Oldham, they've still to beat a northern team so, for both clubs, Sunday's showdown at The Keepmoat Stadium, will have a lot resting on it in terms of 'northern pride' and will say a lot about each side's prospects for the rest of the season.