Huddersfield Giants’ injury list laid bare through predicted Hull KR side

There are injury lists, then there are Huddersfield Giants’ injury list.

Super League’s only winless side are doing in tough in all regards right now, struggling for results but also struggling to get players on the field.

Clubs across the competition are doing it tough on the injury front right now, but none like the Giants, who have TWELVE senior players missing, and then a string of their younger players for good measure.

None of them will be back for their Challenge Cup game with Hull KR, leaving their squad incredibly depleted – and the likelihood is that only two of them will be back this month.

Four of their players; Niall Evalds, Adam Clune, Adam Swift and Liam Sutcliffe, have yet to play in any of their Super League outings this season. Sutcliffe’s injury is the worst, with a hamstring injury set to keep him out until July. The other three are not due back until the beginning of April with their respective injuries.

Sam Halsall had been their player up until he got injured against Castleford Tigers, and his hamstring injury will keep him out until the end of April. Joe Greenwood, who suffered an injury in round one against Catalans Dragons, is due back around the same time from an ankle injury.

Harry Rushton has a thumb injury and is out until May, Sam Hewitt has had ankle surgery and isn’t likely to return until then either. So in a best case scenario, the Giants are going to be without eight senior players for around another month.

It’s likely to be confirmed that will worsen in the coming days, with George Flanagan and Matty English awaiting scans on injuries picked up against Hull KR. Ominously, the Giants are expecting both out long-term, taking them up to ten.

Zac Woolford and Tanguy Zenon are both unavailable this week too, with Woolford being assessed under head injury protocols, while Zenon is cup tied. Both could, feasibly, return next week, at least.

On the younger players, Connor Carr has a shoulder injury that the Giants are expecting to result in a prolonged period of absence, Marshall Land has an ankle injury that will keep him out until May and Logan Blacker faces another month out with a thigh injury.

In a nutshell, the Giants have a 31-man squad at present, and sixteen of them are unavailable for selection this week. They have more players unavailable, than they do available.

Trying to piece together what their squad looks like this week is incredibly difficult, it will almost certainly feature some academy talent to ensure they can name a full 17. Here’s a potential look at how they could line-up this weekend.

Potential Huddersfield Giants side to face Hull KR: Chippendale, Wrench, Gagai, Milne, Sharma, Lolohea, Russell, Powell, Rush, Burgess, O’Donnell, Patolo, Cozza Subs: Rogers, King, Billington, Algar.