Canterbury Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould has shut down the idea that Leo Thompson will be sidelined for up to half of the 2026 NRL season.

Rumours spread among Bulldogs' fans on Wednesday morning that Thompson was injured, and could be ruled out for the first three or four months of the upcoming campaign.

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) though, Gould said that people get "horrible mail", slamming the rumour.

Gould regularly uses his social media account to clarify the inner workings of the Bulldogs, but the rumour around Thompson caught most off guard, with it not being circulated anywhere other than among Bulldogs fans.

Thompson will have an enormous role to play for the blue and white throughout the course of the 2026 campaign, having joined from the Newcastle Knights.

A powerful forward who struggled for consistency during the second half of 2025 in the Hunter, Thompson has been signed to deliver size and aggression to a Bulldogs pack who were strong throughout 2025, but at times lacked punch to breakthrough against the top sides.

Thompson's arrival is just one of the moves Canterbury have made for 2026, with the Bulldogs still yet to decide on their starting halves following the exit of Toby Sexton, while it's likely Bailey Hayward will take over full-time at dummy half with Reed Mahoney now at the North Queensland Cowboys.

The Bulldogs open their 2026 campaign against the St George Illawarra Dragons in Las Vegas.