Ryan Hampshire could have to wait two months for his Castleford Tigers debut after breaking his hand for their Reserves last weekend.
The fullback joined the club last week on a deal until the end of the season, having been a free agent following his departure from Wakefield Trinity.
He scored a try in his first appearance back in Tigers colours on Sunday but then suffered an injury which will rule him out for some time.
“He’s broken his hand in the Reserve game,” said Castleford head coach Lee Radford. “He’s devastated, I think it’s six to eight weeks. He sees the physios tomorrow but that’s the timeframe on it.
“Just the way things have been going luck-wise (for us), that typifies it. He definitely would have been in contention (this week).”
Radford also confirmed a hand injury for Cheyse Blair suffered in last week’s defeat at Wigan Warriors which has required stitches and means he will be unavailable for Saturday’s Challenge Cup sixth-round clash at Leeds Rhinos.
There is some positive news on the injury front for the Tigers though, with a host of players in line to make a return this weekend.
Niall Evalds could come back from a hamstring injury, while Radford confirmed that forwards Adam Milner (back) and Nathan Massey (hamstring) also had a chance of featuring.
Alex Sutcliffe comes back into contention too, while Gareth O’Brien (nose) and Joe Westerman (eye) are training and could also feature after the pair picked up knocks last week.
