Huddersfield Giants may have welcomed back a few key players from injury as of late, but their medical room is still quite full when it comes to the rest of the squad.
With Niall Evalds and Adam Clune both returning from injury, the pair have seemingly given Huddersfield new life, and they have guided the club to two straight wins – including one over Wigan Warriors.
Adam Swift also came back last time out against York Knights, another influential and experienced player that the Giants have missed in the early part of 2026.
This week, Harry Rushton and Sam Halsall have returned to the 21-man squad, so the signs are positive for interim boss Liam Finn as it stands.
However, there are still a number of players that are quite a long way off, and after an “unprecedented” injury update came from the club last month, Finn has revealed the latest on some of their injured bodies.
Starting with prop Matty English, the former Halifax and Dewsbury boss said: “Matty is a while off yet but he has had the brace taken off his knee so hopefully he will progress at a more significant rate now as he starts a more active phase of his rehab. You won’t see him on the field for a little while yet but he’s progressing.”
He also confirmed: “[Liam Sutcliffe] is a fair way off. He just started light running this week but he’s had a pretty serious operation on his hamstring so it will take a while to build up his strength and his tolerance in that.
“[Joe Greenwood] is a funny one because on paper he’s not too far away but there are a few boxes he needs to tick and he had a setback in the last couple of days so we’ve had to stall a little bit on his running progression.
“That could be in the next couple of weeks or it might just get pushed back a little bit more.
“George [Flanagan Jr] is still in a boot. He’s still recovering from his operation. I think he comes out of his foot in the next couple of weeks and then similar to Matty with his brace, he’ll progress quickly there in terms of getting him out on the training field but he’s still a fair way off.”
Sam Hewitt is another on the sidelines. After having ankle surgery, the back rower is beginning to step up his rehab as he starts to get back running again.
Lastly, Connor Wrench has featured in the last two but he won’t be back in the side for a few weeks after taking a bang to his knee.
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Huddersfield Giants coach leaving it late to decide on matchday 17
Whilst Halsall and Rushton do return to the 21-man squad, Finn has been left with some “decisions to make” regarding whether they slot in straight away or they need another week before they make their comeback.
Commenting on both those players, the former half-back said: “We were disappointed to lose Harry [Rushton] in round one and he’s been a big loss.
“Sam [Halsall] at the time he got injured was our best player but he did his hamstring. He’d been playing outstandingly well. They’re two big personalities in the group that we’re really happy to have back available for selection.
“They have [potential to come straight back in]. They will be in and amongst it. I’ve got a couple of decisions to make but they’ll be in the mix.”
Should Halsall in particular not make the 17, the club will need someone to fill in for the injured Wrench, and Tanguy Zenon was one man tipped to make the side.
“Those are the options [Halsall and Zenon] and obviously we’ve got Jacob Douglas there in the outside backs so between the six of them, we’ll put a back line together that we think will be competitive against Leeds,” said Finn.
