CASTLEFORD TIGERS head coach Craig Lingard has given the prognosis on forward Liam Watts.
Watts left the field early during Castleford’s 24-18 win over Catalans Dragons last week and now Lingard has confirmed he will be out this week, but it is not long-term.
“We are hoping it’s not too bad, he’s done some running today. He was about 75 or 80 percent fit but he has not trained with the boys this week,” Lingard said.
“We’re not expecting it to be a massive injury and hopefully he will be available next week.
“Nixon Putt is back in the squad, he has trained fully this week but he wont be in the 17 this week. He needs some minutes to get up to match speed.”
Lingard also revealed his pledge to the younger players in the Castleford squad,
“Fletcher could potentially play, between now and the end of the season, we have to blood some of these younger players we have talked about.
“We might get to the last four or five games and it’s perhaps unrealistic to make the play-offs. We will gauge where we are week by week but there will come a point where we chuck a few young kids in.
“As a coach you want to win as many games as you can and it would weaken the team but we need to think bigger picture which is what we’ve done all season.
“We need to blood these younger players in for next season and make sure they are physically ready and mentally aware.
“I don’t want to chuck too many names out there in case we get their hopes up. Players will know who they are because they are training with the first-team squad on a regular basis.”
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