Hull FC head coach Tony Smith has issued an injury update on members of his first-team squad ahead of the start of the Betfred Super League season this week.
The Black & Whites kick off their new campaign with their Round One clash against Castleford Tigers at the MKM Stadium on Sunday, with a bumper crowd expected and several sections of the ground already sold out for the first match of the Tony Smith era at the club.
Hull will be without a handful of stars going into the game, while several players will be assessed as the week progresses.
Providing an update on Ligi Sao, who missed last week’s friendly against Wakefield with a dead leg, Smith said: “Ligi will be touch and go for the first game.
“It’s taken a while for that dead leg to bleed. The bruise is all coming out now. It was a significant one. Sometimes we think a dead leg isn’t that much and sometimes they’re not and you can run them off but this one is a bit more serious than that. It’s very tender – there’s certainly been an impact there.
“We’re hopeful that he will be fine for the first game. We’ll see how it goes. We’ll assess it this week but he’s got a bit of time on his hands. He’s desperate to be ready.”
Smith also explained that both Carlos Tuimavave and Andre Savelio find themselves in a similar situation having spent large periods of pre-season recovering from injuries sustained last season.
“Carlos and Andre are in the same boat in that regard. They’re both putting their hand up for Round One. We’ll assess them again before we make any decisions.
“We’ve trained with pretty much the same team that ran out at Wakefield. Whether there are any tweaks to that, we’ll decide later in the week. They are the most three likely options to play. Whether we change it or not we’ll see.”
Looking ahead to the match itself, Smith said that those players who aren’t involved this weekend are expected to feature the following week as the Airlie Birds travel to take on Leeds.
“We’re expecting a big crowd, we’d like to entertain them and we’d like them to go home victorious. I’m not going to suggest that we’re not conscious of that but at the same time is about getting victories and having players on the field throughout the season.
“We’ve got to weigh up whether it’s worth taking risks on certain players at certain times. For Round One, if the players we’re talking about don’t play then they will play Round Two.
“I’ve got good medical advice but these are good experienced players too and they are smart enough to make the right calls on their own bodies as so I’ll put some trust in them as well.”
Hull will also go into the Round One match with five players certain to be unavailable for selection, with Jake Trueman, Connor Wynne, Jamie Shaul, Charlie Severs and Kye Armstrong all sidelined as they continue their recovery from their respective injuries.
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