One of the biggest derbies in rugby league is set for Friday and Hull KR boss Willie Peters has provided an injury update and offered some fresh news on Mikey Lewis and his hopes of facing Hull FC.
Hull KR will travel across the city to face Hull FC at the MKM Stadium for the second time in the space of two weeks, having defeated them at the start of the month in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup.
The Robins won that game 32-16 but they had to play the majority of it without their talisman Mikey Lewis who limped off with a groin injury when the game was scoreless. His replacement Jez Litten would put in a Man of the Match performance in his absence, tallying 16 points.
Litten deputised again in Round Seven of Super League as Lewis sat on the sidelines, even providing an injury update at half-time when appearing on Sky Sports, but his boss has now given a more comprehensive review of the Man of Steel’s chances of playing on Friday.
Willie Peters fronted the media ahead of the Hull derby with all eyes on the availability of Mikey Lewis and the severity of the injury sustained by one of the club’s stars in that loss to Wigan Warriors.
Hull KR star to miss up to three months with injury
Credit: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
The 28-12 defeat marked the first loss of the season for the Robins and the winning streak began to untangle around the 20-minute mark when Wigan exploited the injured Micky McIlorum and scored their first try of the game.
McIlorum was then subbed off and didn’t return with Peters’ initial assessment being that the hooker had torn his bicep, something which has now been confirmed.
“Yeah, so he’s ruptured it, which we thought,” Peters explained.
“I knew straight away with the type of player that he is that he certainly did some serious damage there.
“He’s going to need surgery on that so we’ve got to get him in ASAP. It’s known as a 12-week injury but we’ll see how we go.”
McIlorum had played in every Super League game so far in 2025 following his move from Catalans but his injury means that make-shift half Jez Litten will now revert to the number nine role. Fellow dummy-half Bill Leyland failed his HIA whilst on loan with Huddersfield, ruling him out but Peters did confirm that the youngster has returned to the club to recover.
Willie Peters gives Mikey Lewis injury update
Credit: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
There was a more positive update about Jesse Sue who looked to have sustained a shoulder injury but Peters confirmed the prop was “fine” before moving onto to assess the chances that Mikey Lewis has of facing off against Hull FC.
Peters explained: “There’s definitely a chance. We’ll just have to see later on in the week. We need to build him and then see where he’s at later on in the week.
“James Batchelor, he’ll be playing so that’s a huge positive for us but with Mikey, we’ll just have to wait and see where he’s at later on in the week.”
On what exactly he is looking for in terms of giving Lewis the green light to play on Good Friday, Peters said he would bow to the expertise of his medical staff.
He said: “I’m looking for our physio and head of performance to say that he’s ready to go and if they give me the nod and Mikey says he’s okay and feels good, then I’ll be convinced by those guys.
“It’s not for me to be able to say he’s playing or he’s not or what I’m looking for. I’ve got every bit of faith in our team.”
Hull KR will name their 21-man squad for that game at midday on Wednesday, something that could give us more of an idea on Lewis’ chances.
It’s Derby WEEK 😤👊#UpTheRobins🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/5ygsktypHp
— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) April 14, 2025
