IAN Knott looks as though he's played his final game this season for Leigh Centurions.

The hard-working loose-forward went into hospital on Thursday for surgery on a back injury and it's unlikely he will have recovered sufficiently to play any further part in Leigh's engage Super League relegation struggle.

Knott has missed the last four games and had hoped that rest and physiotherapy would have cured the problem. But now he's been told that surgery is the only solution.

Coach Darren Abram explained: "Knotty had a similar problem last season and had an operation in the off-season to fuse two discs in the right side of his lower back. Now he needs an operation on the left side.

"I don't think you'll see him in a Leigh shirt again this season because the recovery time is so lengthy."