Castleford Tigers head coach Danny McGuire has offered a positive update on star back-rower Jeremiah Simbiken, with the Papua New Guinea international now only expected to miss eight to 10 weeks.
The back-rower made a bright start to life at the Jungle, scoring two tries in his first eight appearances for the club, but picked up a knee injury in their 30-12 win over Huddersfield Giants in round nine.
That injury, it turned out, later required an operation which was expected to leave him out for the long term.
“I don’t want to jump the gun medically, but it’s going to be a lengthy one,” McGuire said previously. “He’s having an operation in a couple of weeks, and we’ll have to reassess it from that.
“I’d say 12 weeks, best case scenario I’m being told – and that’s best-case. It’s not a position where we’re blessed with numbers: Mells (Alex Mellor) is our only back-rower in the squad. So it’s something we’ll have to look at.”
But, following a successful operation, the forward has received a new timeframe on his return to the field.
“Jeremiah got better news after his operation,” said the Fords boss ahead of his side’s trip to Salford Red Devils. “He might only be out for eight to 10 weeks rather than 16 weeks, so that helps us.”
Simbiken’s initial timeframe had prompted McGuire to once again dip into the market to bring in a long-term replacement, and even after the positive update he still insists the club are looking for an extra reinforcement.
“We are still a bit light in the back-row areas, so if anything came up, we’d have a look at that.”
Elsewhere, the Fords boss confirmed that Louis Senior and Sam Hall are both back in contention for selection after impressive performances in the reserves.
Winger Senior, twin brother of fellow Tigers back Innes, made the switch to Castleford during the 2024 season but picked up a serious injury and has not featured since. Front-rower Sam Hall also saw his 2024 season end abruptly after injuring the nerves in his shoulder.
Castleford Tigers welcome Salford to the Jungle this weekend, with Paul Rowley’s side plunged into their latest financial crisis after reportedly receiving a winding-up petition over unpaid debts.
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