The Hull FC injury latest from John Cartwright.
Hull FC head coach John Cartwright.(Image: SW PIX)
Hull FC are not expecting any returns from injury ahead of Sunday’s Super League game against Catalans Dragons. However, the Black and Whites could see a timely boost for Good Friday’s derby against Hull KR next week, with Joe Batchelor having a chance of returning to the side for the Easter clash.
The back rower, signed from St Helens for the 2026 season and beyond, has been out for the last month with a calf injury, limping off the field at Wigan Warriors back in round two.
But after missing the last four games, Batchelor is now closing in on his return, with the 250th derby a genuine possibility for the player – a match-up that would put him up against his brother and Rovers forward James Batchelor.
“He’ll be close for next week,” Cartwright confirmed. “He was back in training today with the team. Now it’s just about ramping up his workload and making sure that his calf is 100% strong and will cope with the rigours of the game. He’s not too far away. He’s got a chance of playing on Good Friday, for sure.”
Cartwright also gave an update on winger Harvey Barron, who injured his ankle in the round three game against York Knights and was expected to be out for several weeks.
“He’ll be a couple of weeks at the earliest,” the head coach said. “He might be an outside chance next week. But initially it was going to be longer. He’s out of his boot and he’s back running. He’s still with the rehab crew. He will be back in with the team next week. We normally try to give them a week or two training with the team before we put them back into action.”
Cartwright also gave a further update on Yusuf Aydin (ankle) and Aidan Sezer (pec), and while a timeframe is still not certain for Aydin, Hull’s skipper Sezer is looking at around a month out.
“They’re in rehab,” Cartwright said. “I don’t like talking about timeframes on injuries; it doesn’t lock you in, but we just want to get them symptom-free, and then when they are symptom-free, we will give them a week of training and they will be available.
“The early diagnosis for Aidan was anything from a month to six weeks. He’s feeling pretty good at the moment. He’s not into full contact yet, but he’s doing full training outside of that. We’ll just weigh up how he’s going.”
Hull also remain without Herman Ese’ese (Achilles), Jed Cartwright (hamstring), and Ryan Westerman (foot). Will Pryce and Joe Ward (both ACLs) are out for the season.
The side will also be forced into a change this week following Cade Cust’s suspension, with Callum Kemp likely to come in and partner Jake Arthur.
“We’ll lose Cade and it’s unfortunate that we just can’t field the same spine as we did the week before, but we’ll tinker with things and come up with a combination and finalise on Saturday morning,” Cartwright added. “I think that’s the best we’ve gone week to week with just the one change.”