Castleford handed major Liam Hood injury boost as retirement fears quashed

Castleford Tigers hooker Liam Hood has been cleared to return to training – and while his actual playing comeback remains some time off, any fears of his career being ended have seemingly been curtailed.

Hood has been ruled out for a lengthy period after suffering a serious neck injury during Castleford’s recent victory at Wigan. He was diagnosed with a serious neck problem and initially told he would be unavailable for three months.

League Express had reported that Hood could be forced into retirement after that news but Castleford coach Ryan Carr revealed on Wednesday during his pre-match press conference that the hooker is making good progress.

In fact, he has been given the all-clear to start a graduated and phased return to play protocol.

Carr said: “He’s had some good news that he can return to training now and it’s going to be a progressive thing, so we have to make sure we follow every instruction we’re given.

“We don’t want to go away from that on his return to play but he’s really happy. He’s such a good guy to have around our club, we’ve missed him on and off the field and I’m happy we can get back into training which is really good.”

When asked about possible timeframes for his actual playing return, Carr confirmed: “It’s still a couple of months.”

Without Hood, the Tigers will have to change their hooking option again this weekend when they take on York Knights. Brad Dwyer did the job at Hull KR after signing on a one-week loan but he is now back with Salford.

However, forward George Lawler could step in there after completing a suspension. Cain Robb is also another option for Carr to consider.

Fellow forward George Hirst is also available after completing his return to play protocol after a HIA.

And Carr insisted his side will be much better for the break in between the defeat to Hull KR and their upcoming clash against a side near them in the Super League table.

“It’s big,” Carr said when asked how monumental a game this weekend was. “They’re all big games. But there’s no more important one than the one you’re about to play. We’ve had some new players come into our squad who’ve had a good fortnight of training.”