Huddersfield Giants stand-off Lee Gaskell has been ruled out for five weeks after breaking his thumb.
Gaskell, who earned rave reviews for his performance in the Giants’ unforgettable defeat to Leeds a week ago, suffered the injury in the closing stages of the game.
He underwent surgery and will now sit out several weeks of action.
It’s a huge blow to Giants coach Simon Woolford, with Gaskell and Aidan Sezer forging a strong partnership since their combination was formed at the start of the season.
“Gasky will be missing for a few games,” Woolford confirmed.
“It happened with two minutes to go, I think it was Bruno (Michael Lawrence) who came from the side and just caught him. He had it operated on this Thursday, so as soon as the pin comes out he’ll be good to go.
“It’s looking like five weeks, but we didn’t play this weekend and we’ve got the Challenge Cup coming up too, which we aren’t in, so with a bit of luck he’ll just miss two or three games.
“You look at some clubs playing this weekend and the players they have missing and you see that injuries are just something we are all going to have to deal with.”
In better news for the club, Jermaine McGillvary and Ukuma Ta’ai are in line for selection against Warrington on Saturday and Jordan Turner will be free to return after a concussion injury in the game against Leeds.
Aaron Murphy is set to miss the game with a shoulder problem.
Meanwhile, Academy product Dom Young will move to the NRL next year after signing a deal with Newcastle Knights.
The 19-year-old, who celebrated his birthday on Sunday, will depart after having made just one Super League appearance for the club last year.
Richard Thewlis, the club’s managing director, said: “Dom’s father informed us a goodly while back that he would be taking up an option elsewhere and rejected our offer of a two-year Super League contract. Thus we wish him well in his next move, which appears to be the Newcastle Knights.
“Whilst we will not receive any compensation in this instance, we would have that right if he eventually returns to the UK, which, if it were the case, we would hope Huddersfield would be a club he would consider.
“We have put a lot of investment into Dom over the years and, whilst it’s disappointing, it’s a wonderful opportunity for a local boy to make a new life overseas and we sincerely hope everything works out well.”
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