Hull FC could be set for an injury boost ahead of their trip to Hull KR on Good Friday next week, John Cartwright has confirmed.
The Black and Whites will be without a raft of key men this weekend when they host Catalans Dragons, with Cade Cust being the latest to be ruled out after being handed a one-match ban by the RFL’s Match Review Panel.
That’s a blow that will lead to yet another spine switch up and Callum Kemp is the likeliest option to play alongside Jake Arthur in the halves on Sunday afternoon, with Aidan Sezer being ruled out last week, too.
With the likes of Yusuf Aydin, Will Pryce, Herman Ese’ese, Harvey Barron and Jed Cartwright in the treatment room, too, it’s fair to say FC are down on numbers at present.
But, there is some good news, with Joe Batchelor on the verge of a return after injuring his calf last month while in action against Wigan Warriors.
He has restarted training with the first-team at the club’s University of Hull training ground and while this week will come too soon for him, Cartwright is optimistic that he could be fit enough in time to make the trip to Craven Park.
“He’ll be close next week,” the Hull boss said on the back-rower, who would face off against his brother James on Good Friday if fit. “He’s back in training today with the team so now it’s just ramping up his load now to make sure that calf is 100 per cent strong and will cope with the rigours of the game. He’s not far away.
“He has a chance of Good Friday for sure.”
It’ll be a push, but Cartwright hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of skipper Sezer playing at Craven Park, either, despite the initial assessments of his pec injury.
“The early diagnosis was anything from a month to six weeks,” the head coach added. “He’s feeling good at the moment.
“He’s not into contact yet but he’s doing full training outside that. It’s a short turnaround into the game on the back of this one so we’ll just have to see.”
It seems more likely that Hull will be able to welcome back Harvey Barron from his ankle injury later in April, though.
“I think a couple of weeks at the earliest. He might be an outside chance next week but initially it was going to be longer,” Cartwright added. “He’s back, out of his boot and he’s running. But he’s still with the rehab group and he’ll be back with the team next week and you normally give them a week or two with the team before they’re available.”
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