Huddersfield Giants boss Luke Robinson has confirmed that his side will be without fullback Niall Evalds for the rest of the season, ahead of their visit to Hull FC on Saturday afternoon.
Robinson shared that Evalds had continued to play during their match with Wakefield Trinity last week, but it’s come at a cost for the Hull KR loanee.
He’s had a torrid time with injuries this season, and Robinson admitted that he’s gutted that he hasn’t been able to produce his full potential whilst on loan at the Giants.
Speaking in the press conference ahead of the weekend’s game, the Huddersfield Giants boss said: “It’s not good news on Niall. He’s a player that I’ve admired for a long time and thought would make a difference to not only the way we attack but the way we defend.
“I’ve admired him since his Salford days, never mind when he was at Hull KR and tearing teams apart.
“We have had zero luck with him. We’ve played 30 minutes with him at Salford, and he broke his foot.
“Two minutes into the game last week, he basically sent a message to the bench that he felt something in his calf.”
Huddersfield Giants boss talks fullback injury and the club’s crisis in 2025
The Giants haven’t had it easy with injuries in 2025, and Evalds is the latest player to be ruled out, joining Adam Clune and Sam Hewitt for the season, especially with some big games coming up, including this weekend against Hull FC.
However, he did try to play on through the injury at the weekend, but Robinson admitted that it’s mostly frustration with the club not being able to catch a break with the amount of casualties.
He added: “I don’t think he wanted to believe it as well. He persisted and wanted to manage it. He carried on, and he said he could get through, thinking it might just be tight, but he wasn’t touching the ball or getting himself in any attacking positions he normally gets in.
“Defensively, he was struggling to get around the field, so in the second half, we had to bring him off.
“It’s felt like we’ve gone to war with a butter knife at times this year, so it’s very frustrating from a coach’s, player’s and club’s perspective.
“We haven’t seen the best of him, and we won’t see him for the rest of the year now.”
