Castleford Tigers’ interim coach Chris Chester has admitted he would be ‘very surprised’ if Tom Amone played again this season.
Amone left the field visibly in pain during the first half of Castleford’s defeat to his former club Leigh Leopards on Thursday night. He needed assistance to exit the field of play and was seen in the second half sat on the sidelines with Chester.
He will go for further assessment to determine the extent of damage on an ankle problem in the coming days, but Chester admitted he was fearful that would be the last time Amone pulled on a Castleford shirt again.
He said: “I’d be very surprised if we see Tom Amone again this year. He was devastated when he came off the field, he wanted to play big minutes because Tom has always played big minutes.
“It doesn’t look great. He’ll go for an x-ray or a scan and I’m really sad for Tom.”
There is a possible knock-on effect with his move to Hull KR in the offing, too. Amone would likely start pre-season in around 10 to 12 weeks with the Tigers – and if the club’s worst fears on any injury are realised, that would possibly eat into the start of his time with the Robins after agreeing a deal to join them permanently in 2026.
Chester, who signed Amone for Leigh as well as Castleford, admitted he will be sad to lose him from his Tigers squad in 2026.
He said: I’m just pleased that I’ve been able to work with him because he’s a fantastic human being. I remember that first call when we signed him here; he was concrete about coming, we got him over on a cheap deal that he keeps reminding me of.
“He’s got a lovely family and he’s put everything into this club. We need another 13 Tom Amones. I’ll be sad to see him go but he’s got a contract there at Hull KR and he’ll be another success at Hull KR.”
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