Super League club returns to training with just four players as three other teams start pre-season today

Steve McNamara will welcome back some a first part of the 2023 squad at the Gilbert Brutus Stadium.

4 players will be back tomorrow for the start of the preseason: Julian Bousquet, Romain Navarrete, Tom Johnstone, Manu Ma’u. They will be joined the week after by the players who weren’t involved in the World Cup. The French internationals will be back early in Decembre. Sam Tomkins, Micky McIlorum, Mike McMeeken and the new recruit Siosiua Taukeiaho will return to training after Christmas.

Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara said: “We start the preseason with a staff camp today after which, on Tuesday 15th, the players who were injured at the end of last will spend the first week together. This will be a detailed and specific program to integrate them back safely before being joined by the rest of the players who weren’t involved in the RLWC on Monday 21st November. The French players from the World Cup will return on December 5th with all other players involved in the World Cup will return after Christmas. Preseason is always like this for us in a World Cup year due to the huge number of players we have involved at international level. It’s no surprise and in fact a great challenge to for us to embrace.”

Elsewhere, Huddersfield Giants started their pre-season as they look to build on their third place finish.

Warrington Wolves and Castleford Tigers also began their pre-seasons after Salford Red Devils, Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC began theirs last week.

Wakefield Trinity and Hull KR were the first two teams to take to pre-season training.