York Knights boss Mark Applegarth admitted he is unsure whether he will be able to field a 17-man squad for their Challenge Cup game with Hull KR after suffering further injuries on Saturday.
Will Dagger failed a HIA in their 34-14 defeat to Huddersfield Giants, automatically ruling him out of the quarter-final clash, while Josh Griffin went off with a back spasm issue, though Applegarth admitted he did not anticipate that being a major issue.
That said, the Knights were unable to name an 18th man against the Giants, and with Dagger definitely out and no definite returnees, they are down to bare bones.
Sam Wood is the most likely returnee with a finger issue, but beyond that, York are struggling.
“The main thing is we get to name 17 for next week,” Applegarth said. “I’m just thinking who we’ve got back.
“Woody, it depends how his fingers settle down. The doctors were telling us a bit longer than Woody would like, so we just need to make sure we’re smart there. Mata’afa, obviously, is going to be a bit longer than we thought.
“Liam Harris, yeah, I doubt. Probably maybe Woody’s the only one that is maybe touch and go, but I’ll have to see what we get told there of the doctors.”
Jon Bennison is still around three weeks away from a return and Kieran Hudson is still ‘a week or two’ away from being able to return to the fold.
They face a Rovers side defending the Challenge Cup and coming into the game off the back of four wins in their last five games. Meanwhile, York have lost four straight Super League games on the bounce but did defeat Keighley Cougards to advance to the last eight of the cup.