Hull FC given huge injury boost as John Cartwright hints at changes v St Helens

Hull FC could be boosted by the return of back-rower Jed Cartwright this week, head coach John Cartwright has confirmed.

The Black and Whites have spent much of the season without a recognised second-rower available, with Cartwright and Jordan Lane missing huge chunks of the season while Oliver Holmes has been forced to retire due to his knee issue.

Ed Chamberlain and Zak Hardaker have stepped into the pack well in their absence over the last months but Hull have been sorely missing an experienced operator in that position. Fortunately though, it seems FC could be boosted by the return of at least one forward with Cartwright pushing to prove his fitness this week ahead of Saturday’s clash with St Helens at the MKM Stadium.

“Jed may be available this week,” Cartwright said in his press conference when asked for an injury update. “He’s back in full training.

“We’re off tomorrow (Thursday) and then we’ll train Friday so we’ll make a call on him on Friday.

“He hasn’t had any hiccups, he’s got through. We’ll assess him on Friday and make a call then.”

Asked when Hull fans can expect to see Lane back on track, Cartwright added: “Not in the short-term. He won’t be considered for at least a month.”

On John Asiata and Will Pryce, who both have hamstring issues, he said: “They’re on track. They were 10-12 week injuries and they’re around the six week mark at the moment.

“You’re looking at another six weeks. John had his scan yesterday and he’s on track and Will will get one next week.”

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John Cartwright ponders Hull FC changes

Hull FC were soundly beaten last week by Warrington Wolves with several of their experienced, senior men failing to meet the performance levels expected of them. As such, potential changes have been a topic of conversation among fans and Cartwright admits he is mulling over some alterations to his line-up.

“We weren’t happy with the performance and players weren’t happy more importantly,” the head coach added. “The core group of players out on the field have done a job for us so far and the easy thing to do is panic and look for answers.

“I’ll talk with the coaches, but we purposefully trained with some different combinations today so we’ll finalise it on Friday. You take a lot of things into account, the age of the player, the time of the season, whether they’ve been up for a long time or whether they’re used to playing at this level for as long as they have. There’s a lot of things come into it.

“Just the last month we’ve been inconsistent with our performances. We’ll look to that and also when you talk to players, you’re upfront about needing to see an improved performance, sometimes that’s a good motivator.”