YORK KNIGHTS have been hit with a major blow as Paul McShane is set for a spell on the sidelines.
The 36-year-old has played 15 times for the Knights in their maiden season in Super League, but now he will be out for the next month.
Ahead of York’s clash against Bradford Bulls this weekend, York boss Mark Applegarth said: “Macca (McShane) won’t be playing.
“He’s got a bit of a calf injury so I think he’ll be out for between three and five weeks depending on how he responds to treatment.
“He just caught it in training. We’ve caught it nice and early, but it’s really important we look after a player such as that.
“I’d rather him miss two or three games than risk it and it goes up to missing eight or nine games.”
However, Applegarth isn’t too fazed, with the Knights having Tom Inman and Denive Balmforth ready to step in at hooker.
“I thought Tom was excellent [against Catalans Dragons]. I admire everything about the man.
“We knew exactly what we were getting with Tom, because he caused us all sorts of headaches last year when he was playing for Halifax, especially in that semi-final we played.
“Denive’s on loan from Hull. He’s been a pleasure to work with, and they both played together at Warrington, and I think they complement each other really well.”