York Knights have suffered another injury blow with veteran winger Ben Jones-Bishop sidelined for the next few weeks.
Jones-Bishop, 37, has broken his foot and will be out for the foreseeable. He has scored four tries in eight games this campaign, and his experience is proving pivotal in the Knights back line.
In a revelation that could have potentially furthered that damage, the Jamaican international played through the pain, and had suffered the break prior to the club’s defeat to Wakefield Trinity.
Knights head coach Mark Applegarth confirmed the news in his weekly press conference as the club prepare to face Hull KR in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup.
He said: “Bish will be a no-go [to play this week]. Bish has got a broken foot.
“…I’m gutted for Bish personally, because I know how hard he’s attacked this year so far and how much it means to him.
“It’s also a testament to how tough he is. To score that try he scored against Wakefield when he had his broken foot then and he leapt in the air to get that, it tells you exactly how tough that man is there.
“It’s an unfortunate injury. It’s part and parcel of our sport, we all know that. We play a really tough sport and collision injuries will happen and Bish is old enough to understand that as well.”
Commenting on other players in the squad, the boss confirmed: “Danny [Richardson]’s not going to be far off if he’s honest with you.
“Woody [Sam Wood]’s just got to be very smart with his finger.
“He had a compound dislocation and if you come back a little bit too early from that, then it compiles and dislocates again and you’re back at square one. Woody’s keen to play. He’s a big part of what we do this year and we’ve just got to be smart about when we do get him back playing.”
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York Knights boss provides update on forgotten ex-Wigan Warriors man
One man who hasn’t featured for the club, or for Newcastle Thunder, this year is former Wigan prop Mitch Clark.
The 33-year-old picked up an Achilles injury in pre-season, and is still recovering from that.
“He’s had a couple of setbacks. We’ve had to get some injections into it just to settle it down. Now that we’re finally on top of it, Mitch is running,” Applegarth said.
“I couldn’t give you a timeline on when he’s back, but he’s definitely making progress in the right direction.”
