WIDNES Vikings debutant teenager Keanan Brand will have an operation on his double leg break tomorrow.

The 19-year-old England Academy international centre was handed his maiden first-team appearance at left centre in the loss at Hull Kingston Rovers on Saturday but within six minutes his game was over in the cruellest of circumstances.

"It's a pretty bad injury but it's not as bad we initially thought," said head coach Denis Betts.

"He'll have an operation to have his leg plated tomorrow.

"Both the tibia and fibia snapped, just from a lot of weight through an awkward position.

"It was six minutes into his debut and a bit of a freak accident. You feel for the kid."

The former Wigan St Patricks junior, who was born in Ormskirk, has been on Widnes' books since he was 14.

From the scholoarship programme he worked his way through the Academy ranks and was voted the under 19s players' player of the year at the end of last season, earning a contract extension to the end of 2019 in the process.