Hull FC have recalled a second player.
Hull FC have recalled Hugo Salabio from his loan spell at Super League club Castleford Tigers. The Black and Whites are seriously depleted for Saturday’s penultimate regular round clash against Warrington Wolves and have now decided to recall the French prop.
John Cartwright is without ten players to injury, with four more – Jordan Rapana, Amir Bourouh, Yusuf Aydin, and Jack Ashworth – suspended or set to be suspended for the game.
That reality saw Hull opt to recall Denive Balmforth from his loan spell at Catalans Dragons, and now Salabio has followed suit. He will be available for selection and, like Balmforth, is set to go straight into Thursday’s 21-man squad.
Hull need to defeat both Warrington and Catalans to secure a Super League play-off place and then hope that Wakefield Trinity lose one of their remaining games. The West Yorkshire outfit play Hull KR then Salford Red Devils.
Meanwhile, Hull will not appeal any of the four suspensions handed out to players on Monday – with another set for a tribunal this Tuesday evening. The club has accepted both bans given to Rapana, not to mention the suspensions given to Bourouh and Aydin.
Ashworth will now face an operational rules tribunal, charged with a Grade E offence for striking. If found guilty, he faces a minimum six-game suspension, ending his Hull career. As widely reported already, the prop has signed for Castleford Tigers next season.
Hull’s decision not to appeal means Rapana’s Hull career is also over – unless FC make the Super League play-offs. Rapana, who last week announced his retirement from professional rugby league come the end of the season, was handed two one-game suspensions for separate offences, while Aydin and Bourouh will each serve one game. They will be available again for the final round game against Catalans.
Elsewhere, Salford Red Devils have made the decision to appeal Logan Lewis’s charge. The forward was slapped with a Grade D charge for head contact and a subsequent three-match ban. Lewis received 12 points for the offence and a further three due to the Catalans player he hit failing an HIA. Salford will challenge the ban this Tuesday.
Catalans forward Franck Maria, who was sent off after a head-high contact during the win over Salford, has been charged with a Grade E contact and faces a minimum six-game ban.