York Knights injury update as Will Dagger dealt another blow

The full-back pulled up during the warm-up ahead of their Championship clash with Halifax two weeks ago as he practiced his kick-offs, with boss Mark Applegarth admitting the initial signs were not promising.

“Obviously we lost Will Dagger in the warm-up,” he explained. “He was just doing kick-offs believe it or not, and he’s looking like he’s going to have a lengthy layoff of two to four months. 

“We’ve had a scan, and he’s got some tendon ruptures around his hip flexor, so that doesn’t sound pretty round his quad.”

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The Knights though have cover at full-back, with the returning Joe Brown a late switch from the right wing against the Panthers, and new recruit Ben Jones-Bishop and rising talent James Farrar both able to step in when required.

Brown had sat out their previous three matches with a hip injury sustained in their season opener at Oldham, but despite having had to rush him back, Applegarth has no new concerns over the winger’s fitness.

“He’s trained fine since,” he said. “We rushed Browny back if I’m honest, he should have probably missed that last week but you couldn’t tell with how he went about his business.

“Browny is back, and we’ve brought Bish in, who is a handy addition now. There’s enough cover to make sure that, in my opinion, we’ve got enough strike out there to compete how we want to compete.”

The Knights though did not come through their 18-10 defeat to the Panthers unscathed, with influential half-back Ata Hingano ruled out of Sunday’s trip to Batley with a fractured hand.

However, it is hoped that, with the bye week having afforded an extra week of rest, he will only miss a couple of matches.

“Ata Hingano broke his hand halfway through the game, he played half a game with a broken hand,” Applegarth confirmed.

“He’s looking at three to four weeks, so I guess the bye week has given him that extra week and hopefully he’ll only miss one to two weeks tops.

“We’re getting there. There’s still enough talent in my opinion with what we have [available] and there’s still enough collective togetherness in that group to grind out those wins even with a couple of our key men missing.

“It’s a good chance for other people to step up and show what they can do, so I’m looking forward to seeing them in action as well.”

Hooker Paul McShane is among the options to slot into the halves in Hingano’s absence. (Image: Craig Hawkhead Photography) Despite losing the Tongan star, the head coach though stressed there are a number of options to partner skipper Liam Harris, with Sam Cook, Paul McShane, Jesse Dee, Taylor Pemberton and Jack Potter among those who could step into the halves.

“We’ve got some cover options there, but you’ll have to wait until Sunday to see what we do.

“I’ve got full faith. You look at guys like Liam Harris, he’s still there, our captain and leader in that sense, Sam Cook, Paul McShane’s played seven as well. There’s young Jack Potter. 

“We’ve got enough options there to cause us a few things to think about, but ultimately, in my opinion, it’s a case of sorting our own game out, getting that composure about us and keeping that clinicalness about us in defence, not giving teams some easy outs coming up with sloppy discipline and keeping hold of the ball when we’re in the right areas of the field. 

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where we’ve been failing at the moment. I think they’re the things we need to fix up first and foremost, and regardless of who’s in those positions, it’s just a case of making sure that as a team, we’re fixing those collectives.”

Prop Conor Fitzsimmons is facing a period out with a soleus calf injury. (Image: Craig Hawkhead Photography) There is also bad news for prop Conor Fitzsimmons, whose calf injury is likely to see him ruled out for six to eight weeks, but Applegarth is hopeful that fellow forward Jacob Gannon will return sooner rather than later after having a cyst removed.

“Conor, he’s looking at six to eight weeks out. He was back training and his soleus pulled, just under your calf muscle. 

“That’s a bit of a sucker punch for Conor. But as I’ve said, it’s also a good chance for other people in the squad to step up.

“Ganno, that’s a bit of a weird one. He had a cyst removed from a pretty invasive area just below his spine and near his bum cheeks, so it was a pretty awkward spot and I don’t think he could sit down for a couple of days!

“He should be back in full training tomorrow. I don’t know if this week’s going to come a bit too early for him.

“I don’t think there’s any long-term injury there, it’s just a case of that they had to open pack the cyst for infection, so it’s been a bit of a not too comfy 10 days for Ganno whilst he’s had that sown.”

There is though light at the end of the injury tunnel, with centre Joe Law back in contention after a knee injury and hooker Jacques O’Neill nearing a return from a hamstring strain that has prevented him from debuting so far.

Applegarth added: “We should have Joe Law back in contention, he’s definitely got through that.

“Jacques O’Neill should be two weeks now, so he’s a little bit closer. He’s just started full training with the team.”