Hull FC injury boost as John Cartwright reveals return dates for key men

Hull FC boss John Cartwright expects Brad Fash to be fit enough to take on Leeds Rhinos this Friday.

The Black and Whites have been missing a host of forwards of late and Fash has been one of those sidelined through a calf injury. The forward has missed five weeks of the season, but with Cartwright still without any of his recognised back-rowers, Fash’s presence comes as a boost.

The forward has spent much of his career playing through the middle, but this season he has been seen in the back-row and could well be seen there on Friday at Headingley.

“Brad Fash will be available this week,” Cartwright said when asked about injuries in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. “That’s probably the only one coming back that is available.

“Harvey [Barron] played in the game (at Magic) and he should be right, he trained today and we’ll see how he pulls up on Thursday. I’m thinking he’ll be OK.”

John Cartwright gives Hull FC injury rundown

Cartwright also had good news in regards to Jed Cartwright’s availability, with the back-rower potentially back from injury before the end of the month.

“All I can say is he’s a week closer,” he added. “Maybe it’s the Catalans game pencilled in but that might be a bit of a stretch. It’s a week off after and then Castleford. Hopefully if it’s not Catalans, it’ll be Castleford.”

Asked about Jordan Lane, who is returning from a broken arm, he said: “Hopefully, he’ll be back around the Castleford game as well. That will be the earliest time.”

Ollie Holmes underwent surgery at the start of the season on a knee injury but is yet to return and Cartwright stopped short of a return timeframe for him.

“It’s week to week,” he added. “He’s had an injection to reline the surface of the knee. He’ll start light running soon. We’re just monitoring him week by week.”

On Liam Watts, who has played just one game since returning to the Black and Whites, the head coach said: “It’s took a little bit longer than we thought. The tear has been worse. He’s slowly coming back. He’ll start light running after that and normally they are two weeks after that.”

“He just needs to get more miles in his legs. They will all be back reasonably close together. If we can stay healthy until then, we’ll have a full squad to pick from.”