Hull FC coach Lee Radford has revealed that Albert Kelly will NOT feature in Friday night’s mouthwatering clash with Leeds – but captain Gareth Ellis could return to action for the club’s reserve side this weekend.
Kelly suffered a calf injury during the closing stages of last weekend’s defeat at St Helens and, despite recovering quicker than expected, Radford has said that they are not going to risk the stand-off at Headingley on Friday night – with Jake Connor set to partner Marc Sneyd in the halves instead.
“I don’t think that we’re going to risk Albert,” Radford said in his pre-match press conference. “To be fair, it’s probably a case of choosing Jake to play in his place.
“We’ve got a really big game coming up in a fortnight’s time so it’s probably not worth the risk.”
Meanwhile, there is better news regarding both Ellis and Chris Green: with both likely to feature for Hull’s reserve side against Halifax this Saturday.
The duo, along with winger Steve Michaels, could all play some part in the game, handing Radford a timely boost ahead of the Challenge Cup semi-final with the Rhinos in a fortnight’s time.
“He’s (Michaels) been working with the physio through the week and he’s been out there again this morning,” he said.
“He’s not too far off at all. There’s a very good chance that they’ll (Green and Ellis) be playing for the reserves at the weekend.
“Some of the reserves need some minutes, but none more so than Gaz and Chris.”
