Hull KR boss Willie Peters has confirmed Joe Burgess will be fit enough to take on St Helens this weekend but Micky McIlorum remains a doubt.
Burgess sat out of the final three games of the regular Super League season due to a calf strain and it’s fair to say his impact was missed as the Robins eventually got over the line to claim the League Leaders’ Shield on the final day of the regular season.
However, the winger has made the most of the week off KR earned by finishing inside the top two and he has trained in preparation for Saturday’s semi-final clash with St Helens.
Whether he will be joined in the side by McIlorum remains to be seen, though. The retiring hooker fractured his ankle in mid-August and has been on the sidelines since.
However, he is pushing to make a return before the end of Rovers’ season and Peters admits he has seen encouraging signs from the 37-year-old. He still has some hurdles to clear this week though before he can be considered fit and ready for action.
Hull KR injury latest
“He is (close),” Peters said on McIlorum in his pre-match press conference. “We’ll have to wait and see at the back end of the week.
“He got through some training today so he’ll need to tick a couple more things off to be playing. I can’t give an answer at the moment to say yes he is or no he’s not.
“Joe got through the session today so Joe will be fine. He’s ready to go.”
With the exception of Lee Kershaw, who will be out until next year, Rovers could have a fully fit squad heading into this weekend’s action then and that means Peters has a number of selection headaches.
Most notable is the left centre spot, which has belonged to Jack Broadbent for much of the season due to Oliver Gildart’s injury. With Gildart fit and firing again there’s a decision to be made there, while McIlorum’s fitness would certainly complicate things such as a bench selection, with a second hooker ensuring one regular forward would miss out.
“It’s a difficult one,” Peters said. “Obviously a majority of the squad are healthy which is what you want and you want these headaches.
“It’s unfortunate that players have to miss out. Hopefully we’ve got two more games and it’s about the team. The majority of the squad have played a massive part and the ones that haven’t played in terms of first team have played a part in training.
“It’s difficult every single week to pick a team but certainly this week because there’s players that should be in terms what they’ve done throughout the year but we can only pick 17 players.”
