CRAIG LINGARD has explained that Elie El-Zakhem failed a fitness test prior to Castleford Tigers’ clash against Huddersfield Giants.
Lingard revealed, in his pre-match press conference, that one of his players would miss Friday night’s clash but wouldn’t reveal who.
However, with Lebanese international El-Zakhem not included in the 17-man squad, the missing piece to the jigsaw had been found.
Now Lingard has revealed why he didn’t play.
“He has got a knee issue which kept him out of pre-season,” Lingard said.
“Sometimes he gets a whack on it and it sets him back. He got a whack on it and failed a fitness test.”
Though the Tigers eventually went down 50-8 to Huddersfield at The Jungle, Lingard had special words saved for halfback Jacob Miller, who received the club’s man of the match.
Miller, who joined Castleford ahead of the 2023 Super League season, endured a difficult year but has turned things around in 2024 to become one of the Tigers’ most influential players.
And Lingard called on others to follow.
“When you look at that desire and work rate, Milky (Miller) has done that in every single game so far and I think it speaks a lot about him as a person.
“Some of the flak he has taken and he has come through the other side. You want people to take that ownership but the performances and effort he is putting in now speaks volumes about him as a person.
“Those other inexperienced players have got to do that. It’s not something that someone else can do for you. I don’t care what players are on the field, you can control the effort you put in.”
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