A welcome Hull FC injury update from Andy Last.
17:08, 14 May 2026Updated 17:11, 14 May 2026
Hull FC prop Herman Ese’ese. (Image: Hull FC)
Andy Last has given a positive injury update on Hull FC trio Herman Ese’ese, Jed Cartwright, and Arthur Romano, with all three players making good progress.
Ese’ese is still to play this season after rupturing his Achilles tendon last August. The prop had a flare-up in his foot a fortnight or so ago but has overcome it and is training hard again with the view to making his comeback in the near future.
Meanwhile, Cartwright, who suffered a significant hamstring tear at the end of February, was diagnosed with a 12-16-week recovery and is making some inroads. Romano also went under the knife after an ankle injury sustained at Hull KR on Good Friday. He is out of his rut and making a strong fist of his recovery.
“He’s been okay, Herman,” Last, speaking to Hull Live, said. “He’s training well. He’s still got a little bit of work to do to convince me and the rest of the staff that he is match fit and at the level that we need him to be in order to participate in games.
“He’s working his way back to match fitness now. He’s suffering no ill effects from his Achilles. That’s looking good. The physios and the rehab team have done a good job. We just need to get him to a level now from a match-sharpness and a match-fitness point of view.
“The issues that we had with regard to his foot, they’ve not shown any signs in the last week’s training. So, like we spoke about in terms of form, in terms of coming back from a long-term injury, you do have these peaks and troughs, you have good weeks and bad weeks, and you’ve got to get through them.
“Herman, after being exposed to a fairly tasty couple of sessions, his foot flared up a little bit, but we’ve sort of like backed off and then we’ve gone in again and after going again, we’ve had no issues with that foot. He’s on the right path now.
“We’ve just got to keep working away at him and get him to a level where we think he’s capable of having a significant impact on our performance.”
On Cartwright, Last continued: “Jed is working his way back to full fitness. He’s just had his first daughter, Arabella, which is great news for the Cartwright family and Jed in particular.
“He’s had a couple of days on paternity, changing nappies and doing the night feeds and all that. And he’s also been working with the home programme. Jed’s got his hand full at the minute, and he’s working his way back to fitness.”
Last also had a positive update to give on Romano. He added: “It was a significant one for Arthur, but he is out of the boot, he’s off his crutches, and he’s working his way back to fitness.
“Arthur has been a big miss for us. I thought he was doing a really, really good job in that centre spot. And he’s also someone who was capable of playing in the back row as well. He’s working his way back, but he’s going to miss a few more games yet.”
Last also gave an update on Connor Bailey following the confirmation of his broken collarbone.
“He’s still in a little bit of pain after the surgery,” the interim head coach said. “He can’t drive at the moment, so he’s a little bit isolated back at home.
“I message him and give him a call and update him on how the training’s been and on our mood is in camp. We’re hoping to see him next week. He’s going to try and get across next week, likely with Yusuf Aydin, so we’ll be able to have a bit of a catch up with him.
“It’s a real shame for Connor because he’s been playing well. It hurt us in the game. We thought it was just the old stinger in the first tackle, but when the X-ray came back, his clavicle was in a couple of pieces.
“He showed some toughness there, sticking it out and trying to get through it, but it was evident that he wasn’t able to continue the game.”
Hull also remain without Will Pryce and Joe Ward (both ACL) for the rest of the season. John Asiata (hamstring) and Sam Lisone (pec) are also out for the foreseeable future.