Hull KR dealt Elliot Minchella injury blow as Rhyse Martin fitness update provided

Hull KR will be without captain Elliot Minchella for this Saturday’s Challenge Cup quarter-final with York Knights – but Rhyse Martin is in line to return.

Minchella has been hugely influential for the Robins so far in 2026, but the reigning cup holders will go into battle this weekend without him after he was ruled out of Saturday’s game by Willie Peters.

Minchella has a hamstring problem which was aggravated during last weekend’s Hull derby victory over Hull FC. Peters appeared to hint that the issue would just be for a solitary week, with Minchella set to come back into contention for next weekend’s trip to Toulouse if all goes to plan.

But the Robins head coach insisted he was not prepared to risk Minchella’s long-term fitness just to risk him this weekend against Mark Applegarth’s Knights.

Peters said: “Elliot Minchella has got a tight hamstring so at this stage he won’t play this weekend. He’s the only one (missing).

“He won’t play. It’s a tight hammy and his strength in it is not where it should be. There’d be a chance that if he plays, he could injure that to a full blown hamstring problem and we don’t risk that. We never risk soft tissues. He won’t play. It should be only a week for where it is today if we manage it properly.”

But there is better news elsewhere for Rovers on the injury front, with Papua New Guinea star Martin set to end his injury exile after missing the last few games with a broken foot.

Peters confirmed that Martin was back in his team, insisting: “Yes, he’s got through everything he needed to. He’ll be back in contention.”

Rovers have a plethora of options to replace Minchella on a temporary basis. It could open the door for Karl Lawton to step up from the bench and start, while Dean Hadley could go to 13, which would allow Martin to slot back into the second row alongside James Batchelor.

Elsewhere, young Rovers winger Jumah Sambou is set to be missing for around six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury. Sambou had spent time out on loan at Widnes Vikings earlier this season.