Mark Applegarth’s side will be hoping to make it five wins in a row at Post Office Road when they take on an out-of-form Rovers, now managed by former Knights assistants Paul Cooke and Ged Corcoran.
Sunday’s 66-0 demolition of Doncaster saw the returns of injured pair Kieran Hudson and Ata Hingano, with both making it through unscathed, whilst Jesse Dee and Kieran Buchanan both passed second-half head injury assessments.
“Everyone passed their head tests,” confirmed Applegarth.
“Kieran passed his head test and was allowed to go back on, and Jesse, I think you’ve got to sit people down for a certain amount of time before they do the head test.
“Because there was only 10 minutes left, we couldn’t get Jesse back on, but he’d passed his head test as soon as I finished with the press after the game, so those two are fine.
“Everyone got through with a clean bill of health last night. We just got to get through tomorrow’s training, and then we’ll see how the team looks for Friday.”
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Prop Conor Fitzsimmons is back in the Knights’ 21-man squad for the fixture, with outside backs Myles Harrison and Brad Ward not far behind, having been given an extra couple of weeks to ease themselves back into things.
“They’re both back in full training now,” Applegarth continued. “They just need some reps on the training field.
“I suppose it’s a luxurious position that we don’t have to rush them back. You get some players back in training and it’s like ‘right, you’re playing on Sunday’, but we’ll give them a week or two just to get the feeling back and get their touch back in.
“All being well, we’ll still be in a position where we can pick and select when to play them.”
Will Dagger has been given a week off as he recovers from a quad tear. (Image: Craig Hawkhead Photography) That leaves just prop Bailey Antrobus and full-back Will Dagger as the club’s long-term absentees as they recover from their respective ACL and quad injuries.
Antrobus did complete a warm-down after full time, but Dagger is still in the early stages of his recovery after having his quad reattached and was on crutches on the touchline during the Valkyrie’s Challenge Cup match on Sunday.
With the full-back having suffered a series of injuries over the last year-and-a-half, Applegarth believes it is important for the club to look after him, both physically and mentally.
“I’ve given Will this week off so he can go and get a bit of family time,” explained the head coach.
“He’s in the very early stages of his rehab; literally he’s had his quad reattached to the bone, so there’s only so much you can do.
“The most important thing for Dags at the moment is to get some quality family time for three or four days, get away from rugby and just recover.
“He’s looking at in between three or four months [on the sidelines], so all being well, we can get him back for the business end of the year.
“We’ll do everything we can to support Dags, he’s a well-liked, well-respected, member of our squad and I feel for him a little bit.
“He’s had a torrid time over the last 18 months with injury, so it’s really important that we get him right, not only physically, but feeling fresh mentally. When we do get him like that, he’s an outstanding player at this level.”
“Jack should be out for about three weeks,” Applegarth told The Press.
“We’ve put him out on loan to Castleford Reserves and Academy just so he can play against players his own age, with York not currently having an Academy or a Reserves.
“It’s really important we give Jack the appropriate challenge for his development, which Castleford have kindly offered to help with.
“He hurt his ankle there, so we’ll get him rehabbed and we’ll keep him out at Castleford so he can focus on playing against people his own age and working on his development.”
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