Andy Last has provided an injury update on Herman Ese’ese and Davy Litten.
Hull FC prop Herman Ese’ese.(Image: SW PIX)
Herman Ese’ese still needs to tick some fitness boxes before returning to the Hull FC side, Andy Last has confirmed.
The prop forward – who hasn’t played since rupturing his Achilles tendon last August – was named in Hull’s 21-man squad ahead of Friday’s game at Leigh Leopards. However, he didn’t make the matchday side.
Undertaking a training session on Friday and present at Leigh Sports Village as the depleted Black and Whites went down 42-6, Ese’ese has now been challenged to make the most of the next two weeks and get some further miles into his legs, with Hull’s next game coming at Warrington Wolves on June 5.
Asked by Hull Live if Ese’ese could be involved in that fixture, Last said: “It’s day by day, he’s not going away, he’s doing a programme. We’ll be in training with Herman.
“He had a tough session today (Friday), he’s trained, and he’s come through that with no problems. We just need to make sure we condition him right and don’t put him in too soon. It was a significant injury and he’s a big player for us. We need to get that decision right.
“He’s just not quite where he needs to be physically at the moment. The game has really sped up and we feel that he needs to do a bit more physically for both us and Herman to feel confident that he can have a significant impact on the matches like he’s capable of doing.
“We made the decision not to put him in the team this week, and he’s got couple of weeks now to get himself into good condition for the Warrington game.”
Elsewhere, Last confirmed that Davy Litten missed the Leigh game with a knee injury and is a doubt for the Warrington clash after scans showed some ‘damage.’ Last had hoped Litten – who was also named in the 21-man squad, would get through the pain this week in order to feature at Leigh, but unfortunately, he was advised not to play.
“It’s his knee,” Last said. “He’s been struggling with a knee issue. In every game, he’s been going down and holding it. It was the same against Bradford.
“And because the week off is coming up with the cup final, we said we’d get a scan on that knee, so we can have a look at how we manage Davy over the next two to three weeks. But the scan has come back with some damage in there and they’ve decided that it wasn’t advisable for him to play tonight. He was gutted, but for his long term health, we had to make that call.”
Hull also had three HIAs during the game, with Jake Arthur, Will Kirby, and Will Hutchinson all going off in the first half. Last admitted that Kirby’s was due to his gum shield lighting up and ensuring a mandatory check.
“It’s the gum shield – a couple of carries or contacts, and the gumshield goes off,” Last said. “You then have to take them off, and they have to look at the TV and all that sort of stuff, but they were all able to go back out there. It was a challenge but I’m glad that they were able to pass their HIAs and continue with the game.”
Asked if there was any further injuries to come from the game, Last added: “I haven’t done the rounds yet, but we’ll probably have four or five. We always do. There’s some ice packs on one or two of them. Hopefully, there’s nothing major.“