Hull FC have suffered another injury.
Hull FC back row forward Connor Bailey.
Hull FC forward Connor Bailey has picked up a suspected broken collar bone and has gone straight to hospital. Bailey left the field in the early stages of Sunday’s 12-4 defeat to Toulouse Olympique, with the player in some discomfort at the MKM Stadium.
Speaking post-match, Last has now confirmed another significant injury blow for the Black and Whites, who were already without the likes of Will Pryce, Herman Ese’ese, Jed Cartwright, John Asiata, Sam Lisone, and Arthur Romano.
“It looks like he’s fractured his clavicle,” Last confirmed. “He did that in the first contact of the game. He will go to A&E and have an X-ray. Hopefully, he’ll get some positive news but it looks like he’s fractured his clavicle.”
Elsewhere, Last also explained why Harvey Barron missed out. The winger was named in the 21-man squad after recovering from an ankle injury that has seen him miss the last two months, with Tom Briscoe holding his spot on the right wing.
“It was just the way that Tom Briscoe has been playing,” Last said. “He’s been playing well and he carries the ball out of the backfield exceptionally well. He’s made that right-wing position his.
“I don’t think Harvey was in great form before he got his injury, so he’s going to work his way back into consideration. There are some good wingers in our group with Harvey, Lewis (Martin), and Tommy, and they will be fighting it out for those two wing positions. Harvey is aware of what he needs to improve on and he’ll be working hard on that to get back into the team.”
Hull now have a week without a game before heading to Bradford Bulls on Sunday, 17 May. Last confirmed that Barron will be in contention to play in that game, with Hull also hoping to have Ligi Sao return.
“There’ll be no big ones back,” Last said. “Harvey is the only one that will come into consideration. And Ligi. He’s started his return-to-play protocols again. He did some activity earlier in the week and suffered some symptoms again. He is starting that process again. Hopefully he will be available.
“We did miss his intent and his aggression to start the game. He’s a good player, Ligi, and we missed him. It will be the same sort of squad that we’ve picked from this week.”