Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has provided an injury update with the club fearful that one man won’t play again this season.
Speaking to the press last week, Peters confirmed that one player had suffered a training ground injury but he stopped short of confirming which player had been affected. Fast forward to Friday night and Micky McIlorum was not named to the squad and Peters has now confirmed to the media today, the hooker has been dealt a cruel injury.
“He’s got a fracture there and he’s going to have some time on the sidelines and we’re just hopeful that he can come back this season,” Peters said of the 37-year-old.
“We’ll need to see how that responds but we’d love to have him back. I certainly don’t want Micky to finish his career in that way.”
It’s widely expected that McIlorum will retire at the end of the season whilst All Out Rugby League have even reported that he will re-join former club Catalans Dragons in an assistant coach role, however, Peters has not written off the suggestion that the veteran has played the final game of his carer.
He said: “Knowing him, if anyone can do it, he certainly can. It’s just a matter of waiting to see how that heals, whether he does need an operation or not. It’s with the medical team at the moment.”
“It would be cruel” – Chances that Hull KR man may have played his final game
Speaking more specifically on the injury, Peters confirmed that it was a fractured ankle and that it was simply a result of a training ground collision.
The Robins boss said: “I can’t give you the exact terminology. It’s in his ankle. There’s nothing really to tell. It happened at training. It’s a physical game. It’s a game where you have collisions and unfortunately sometimes the ankle gets stuck in the wrong spot.
“We’ll make a decision of whether he needs an operation or whether it will heal and they do it without having an operation. Either way, it’s going to be the same timeframe pretty much.”
That timeframe puts McIlorum in a race to be fit for the play-offs with Hull KR looking likely to not play until the semi-finals, scheduled for October 3rd and 4th. Given that he suffered the break at training last week, it would give McIlorum just over eight weeks to be fit in time for the Grand Final.
The hooker went through a similar shortened recovery programme to make it back in time for the Challenge Cup Final and Peters pointed to that and the player’s toughness, though he did concede that there’s a chance he may not be back.
“He has a chance to come back because it’s him and also he may not come back this season,” the Robins boss explained.
“He doesn’t deserve to end that way. It would be cruel if that happened. If it was anyone else, most guys have probably finished their season because they wouldn’t come back from the injury. Because it’s Micky, there’s always a possibility.”
Tyrone May niggle revealed
Peters didn’t report any injuries from Friday night, however, he did confirm that playmaker Tyrone May will have to be checked before returning from his ban.
May was previously handed a two-week suspension for dissent meaning he missed games against Castleford Tigers and Wigan but he might not be fully fit for Thursday night against Leeds.
When asked if May could make a direct return to the playing squad, Peters said: “Tyrone had a bit of an issue, so we just need to make sure that that’s okay, which we’ll know more at the back end of the week. So that’s the main thing.
“If he can get through and he’s okay with that, then he’ll come back into the side. We’ve just got to make sure that he’s okay.”
Should May not return then Peters will likely continue with Arthur Mourgue in the halves and Jack Broadbent at full-back.
