Hull FC have lost Yusuf Aydin for the season but could welcome back two players against Castleford Tigers next week.
Hull FC interim head coach Andy Last.
Hull FC forward Yusuf Aydin has picked up a season ending knee injury, Andy Last has confirmed.
Aydin didn’t return for the second half of Hull’s 32-18 victory at St Helens on Thursday night, with the player now set for scans to determine the full issue.
But he won’t play again for Hull this year, that much is certain, with Last ruling him out of the remaining five games of the Super League campaign.
“He’s gone for the season,” Last said post-match. “He’s done his PCL. We’ll get that scanned but he won’t feature for us again this season, which is a real shame as Yusuf is someone who plays good minutes for us.
“He’s only recently come back from suspension and he was contributing to the team but he’s unfortunately picked up an injury now which means he won’t feature again this season.”
Elsewhere, Hull will also monitor Zak Hardaker over the weekend, with the player leaving the field late on.
“They’re all in there in the changing room singing and dancing,” Last said. “I haven’t done the rounds with them yet with regards to the physio. We’ll assess things over the weekend and then it’s back to work on Monday.
“We’ve got a team connection day tomorrow (Friday). We’re going to the races so it’ll be nice to have a little bit of connection there and then back to work on Monday.
“It’ll be interesting to see who gets the winners. The way my lucks been going over the last few months, I won’t be parting ways with any of my money, so don’t be following me in.”
Hull are next in action against Castleford on Friday 14 August, with Last getting a full week to recover and prepare his players to go again.
The Black and Whites could be boosted with the returns of Sam Lisone and Ligi Sao from long term injuries. Lisone has been out with a pec injury while Sao last played at Bradford back in June, picking up a nerve issue to his shoulder during the clash.
“Potentially,” Last said when asked if the two props could return. “Those two guys could potentially could come back. We just need to decide if it’s the right thing to bring them back straight into the team after winning tonight.
“There’s going to be place available for one of them because we’ve lost Yusuf. I’m not sure what other injuries we’ve picked up but it’s nice to be able to be in a position where you’ve got some strong players rather than next man up.“
Last also aired his delight to get Arthur Romano back, with the Frenchman playing his first game in four months after ankle and wrist injuries.
“I wanted to get him on a bit earlier, maybe as a straight swap for maybe Zak or a Tommy Briscoe in the centre positions, but when Yusuf went down, we had to hold that interchange back,” Last added. “We pushed Arthur into the back row position to just freshen Batch (Joe Batchelor) and Belly (James Bell) up.
“He didn’t play as much as I was hoping him to but he got a good 20 minutes and showed what he is capable of. He carries the ball strongly, he’s a strong player and it’s great to have him back.“