James Webster has confirmed that Josh Mantellato is unlikely to play against before August.
The Italian international has had terrible fortune with injuries this season. During the club’s opening day draw with Castleford the winger suffered a torn retina that kept him out for over a month, and just two games after returning from his first injury, he broke his arm in Rovers’ Easter defeat to rivals Hull FC.
Rovers were optimistic that the 29-year-old would return in the next couple of weeks, however Webster has now revealed that he is unlikely to feature for the remainder of the regular Super League season.
“I doubt we’ll see Josh before the league splits,” Webster told the Hull Daily Mail. “That’s the news we have at the moment. Josh has only played three games all year and we love having him around the place, he’s a great player. If he’s not fit, we can’t risk him. Another person gets a go, we’ll have a fit and a keen player available towards the end of the year.
“It’s tough for all players that miss out. Josh was an extremely important part of this club last year and still is. For his two games he played under me, he gave a great effort but in four weeks’ time we look forward to having him back.”