Hull FC centre Zak Hardaker.(Image: SW PIX)
Hull FC have no guarantees that Zak Hardaker will be fit enough to face Leeds Rhinos on Friday night, interim head coach Andy Last has confirmed.
The Black and Whites head to Headingley on Friday night for their final game of the 2026 Super League season, with Hardaker still battling a calf injury sustained at St Helens last month.
The hope was the veteran, who will head to York Knights next season, would be fit enough to play for Hull again before the end of the season but that may not be the case, with Hull weighing up the players fitness in the early part of the week before preparations begin for the trip to Headingley.
Elsewhere, Hull will monitor Connor Bailey, who picked up a dead leg in defeat at Toulouse Olympique on Friday night, with Ligi Sao already ruled out of the clash after failing a HIA in the south of France. The prop forward has therefore played his last game for the club before moving to Bradford Bulls next season.
On a lighter note, Hull will hope to get James Bell back in the side should he pass his return to play protocols following a head knock against Warrington Wolves.
“Zak might not make it,” Last told Hull Live. “There’s no guarantee.
“But it’s our last game and we certainly need to be a lot better than we was in that first 40 minutes at Toulouse. Hopefully we’ll take a little of confidence from the second 40 but mentality wise you’ve got to turn up for 80 minutes.”
On that mentality, with Hull 30-0 down at half-time before a brief revival saw a 44-30 final result, Last, who will take his side to a Leeds outfit pumped 40-8 by Wigan on Saturday, added: “It’s got to come from within. Only the guys wearing the shirt can fix it.
“We need to get the basics of the game right and not turn over cheap ball and instead put fatigue into the opponent. When we did that. we scored we can score some nice tries.”