Hull FC could welcome back Jed Cartwright to their side this week, with the forward in full training and in contention to play against St Helens this Saturday afternoon.
The back rower has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for the last three months, with Hull’s coaching staff now set to make a call after Friday’s team run. But the expectation now is that Cartwright will play, offering a much-needed boost to the back row position, which has been decimated by injury this year. He will be assessed again on Friday, with Hull’s squad having a day off on Thursday after a full day of training on Wednesday.
Speaking in his weekly press conference, Cartwright said: “Jed may be available this week. He’s back in full training. We’re off tomorrow (Thursday), and we’re back in on Friday – we’ll make a call on him then, but he hasn’t had any hiccups. He’s got through.”
However, the St Helens game comes too soon for Lane, who is still a month or so away from returning from a broken arm injury, with the bone not healing as well as the club would have liked after an operation.
“He won’t be back in the short-term,” Cartwright confirmed. “It will be around another month. His rehab has been fine, but the bone hasn’t healed. Some guys heal quicker than others. The physios are working around the clock with him to get it right and speed the process of the healing up, but it’s a tough one. Everyone heals differently. We had him X-rayed, and it showed the bone hadn’t healed as much as we would have liked.”
Elsewhere, John Asiata has had positive results after a scan earlier this week. The loose-forward is currently sidelined with a hamstring but is on track to return as planned or perhaps sooner depending on how the next stages of recovery go. Meanwhile, Will Pryce will have his scan next week but again is making good progress.
“They’re on track,” Cartwright said. “They were 10-12 week injuries. John is at the six-week mark now. He had his scan yesterday (Tuesday), and he’s on track. Will will get one next week. They have both been in the chamber, and we’ve had advice that that will speed the process up, but it’s new – it’s only been here for a month or so.”
However, Hull have been dealt a big setback with Liam Watts’ diagnosis coming to light. The prop is out with a fresh knee injury picked up in training last month, with Cartwright already confirming it wouldn’t be short-term.
“It was diagnosed as a 10-week injury,” Cartwright added. “He’s in week three or four now. He’s only early into his rehab.”
Cartwright also confirmed no fresh injury concerns have arisen, with the squad all good to go after last week’s game at Warrington Wolves.