Castleford Tigers coach addresses links to Championship star as huge injury blow confirmed

Castleford Tigers boss Danny McGuire says a deal for Featherstone Rovers ace Connor Wynne is off the table at the moment, despite winger Jason Qareqare having been ruled out long-term.

Two-time Fiji international Qareqare returned from a lengthy lay-off last week to make his first appearance of the year and scored a brace as Cas were beaten 13-12 away at Wakefield Trinity.

That lay-off was due to a hamstring injury which had plagued him for a number of months, and when the Tigers‘ 21-man squad for this weekend’s trip to Huddersfield Giants didn’t include him, alarm bells were ringing.

Just prior to McGuire’s pre-match press conference on Friday morning, the club confirmed the news that Qareqare had again injured his hamstring, detailing that he’s now set for another long-term spell on the sidelines.

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Castleford Tigers coach addresses links to Championship star as huge injury blow confirmed

Even before Qareqare’s latest injury, Cas had made no secret of their desire to strengthen in the outside-backs, with their squad thin on the ground in that area.

Former Hull FC star Wynne, who has been with Featherstone since the start of 2024, is a player whose name had been touted for a potential move to The Jungle.

But in his press conference, Tigers head coach McGuire shut those rumours down alongside providing the latest on Qareqare.

He said: “It was really unfortunate, it was 79 minutes and 10 seconds (on the clock against Wakefield), he (Qareqare) got the ball down the right-hand side and he’s re-injured his hamstring.

“He’s going to need surgery to repair that, and we’re thinking the best case scenario is three-to-four-months. I’m not a specialist, but that’s what we’re being told.

“It’a a big blow for us, but a bigger blow for Jase. He’s already worked really hard to get back, and he’s been really unfortunate.

“We’ll support him, we’ll guide him and we’ll help him. Hopefully we’ll see him back at some point before the end of the season, if not, then firing for pre-season next year.

“Connor Wynne is somebody that I do like as a player, and we were looking for some cover in the outside-backs to be able to add some competition there, but that’s not quite played out.

“At the minute, that’s probably a no-go.”

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