The latest Hull FC team and injury news.

13:25, 05 Feb 2026Updated 13:39, 05 Feb 2026

Hull FC’s Aidan Sezer.

John Cartwright will welcome a fully fit Aidan Sezer back into his Hull FC side at Salford RLFC on Friday night, with the skipper ‘doing everything that he needed to do’ in order to return to action.

The skipper had shoulder surgery in the off-season and first told Hull Live that he would be ‘touch and go’ to make the season’s start. However, after knuckling down in rehab and pre-season training, his status became clearer, with the half-back cleared to play and ready to go in his second season in the Black and White.

Starting the year against Championship opposition in the Challenge Cup, Sezer is set to line up alongside new recruit Jake Arthur for the first time, with Cartwright excited to see how the partnership will develop this year.

“Aidan has done everything that he’s needed to do,” Cartwright told Hull Live. There’s no point waiting another week. He wanted to play. He pulls most of our strings, so it’s really important that we get this time with him in the team and then we get a full week ahead of the Bradford game.

“They (Sezer and Arthur) have spent a lot of time together at training, but it’s always different when you play and you get the pressure of a game.

“We’re hoping Jake will take a lot of pressure off Aidan with his kicking game. They’re both smart footballers and every game they play together, they will keep improving. They’re looking good.”

Naming his 21-man squad on Wednesday, Cartwright is going strong for the cup tie, albeit he isn’t taking any risks. As a result, Lewis Martin drops out of the side after a hip complaint, and while the winger is good to go now, the head coach believes sitting out for a week will do him no harm.

“He had a bit of a hip flexor problem,” Cartwright said. “He’s actually okay now, but with it being a Sunday-Friday turnaround, it was enough for us to say we’ll give him the week off. It’s the smart thing to do.”

Elsewhere, the game comes too soon for Liam Knight, who picked up a head knock in training last week and is just outside of the 11-day threshold in order to return to play. Logan Moy is also still sidelined with a calf strain, with Joe Phillips out with a leg injury.

“Liam won’t quite make the timeframe needed to return to play, but he’ll make that for Bradford,” Cartwright confirmed. “He will be back for that game and he will be really handy for us.

“Logan should be available in a couple of weeks. Joe is back running. He will be a few weeks away.”

Cartwright also provided an update on James Bell and John Asiata, with Bell ‘touch and go’ for the league opener next week and Asiata undergoing a recent rest period.

“We’re just making sure that they are absolutely 100% confident and that we’re confident that they will get through games,” Cartwright said. “That’s the key for them. I won’t put a date on it, but we’re hopeful it’s early on in the season.”

Meanwhile, Hull have also been dealt another injury blow, with Ryan Westerman absent from the pre-season games after suffering a stress fracture in his foot.

“He won’t be available in the medium term,” Cartwright added. “It’s pretty much a similar injury to what he had last year with his ankle; it’s a stress fracture in the same spot.”

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