Darnell McIntosh has played his last match for Huddersfield

Correspondent

Huddersfield utility back Darnell McIntosh has played his last match for the Giants after being ruled out for the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles.

The 23-year-old winger or full-back, who is out of contract at the end of the year and has been linked with a move to Hull, sustained the injury in Huddersfield’s 17-10 defeat by Hull last Friday.

Club captain Aidan Sezer may also have donned the claret and gold for the last time after sustaining an ankle injury playing for the Combined Nations All Stars against England last Friday.

With Huddersfield’s other first-choice half-backs Lee Gaskell and Jack Cogger also sidelined, coach Ian Watson has confirmed that Will Pryce, the son of former Bradford, St Helens and Great Britain stand-off Leon, will make his Super League debut against leaders Catalans Dragons at the John Smith’s Stadium on Thursday night.

McIntosh, a product of the Giants’ scholarship system, has missed only one of their 12 league and cup games this year.

Watson said: “His Achilles has gone so it’s the end of the season for Darnell, which is obviously a shame.

“He’s been outstanding this year so it’s a devastating blow, but we’ve got players in the squad who can cover that position.

“Obviously he’s not going to be with us next year so that’s his Huddersfield career finished. It wouldn’t have been the way he’d have liked to finish or the way we would have liked it to have finished but it is what it is.”

Sezer, who is also out of contract this year, is Huddersfield’s marquee player and was short-listed for Man of Steel in his first season with the club in 2020.

He will see a specialist to determine the extent of the injury and Watson says the final decision on whether he plays again this year will rest with the player.

Watson added: “It depends which way he goes with the consultant, whether he tries to rehab it or whether he needs an operation.

“It will be a minimum of eight to 10 weeks so that’s a bad blow. The ultimate decision has got be be down to Aidan because it’s his career and he has to be in charge of his own career.”


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