Five of Keighley Cougars’ players are presently out for this weekend’s friendly against Newcastle Thunder, according to the League 1 team’s preseason injury update.
This preseason, Jake Webster’s team has already played one game, falling to the Bradford Bulls, their neighbours, 26-0 at Odsal on December 23 in a “City of Culture” match.
After finishing second in League 1 last season and missing out on the playoffs, they will play Newcastle Thunder on Sunday in the North East before hosting the Halifax Panthers of the Championship seven days later.
When Keighley enters the 1895 Cup and Challenge Cup at the beginning of February, competitive play will restart, and Webster’s team may still be thin at that point.
League 1 heavyweights issue pre-season injury update with quintet sidelined
Published on Monday evening, the Cougars’ injury update details blows to Josh Lynam, Brandon Pickersgill, Aaron Brown, Harry Bowes and Valu Tane Bentley.
Lynam requires an operation on his finger, and will miss a couple of weeks of pre-season, while Pickersgill has avoided a fracture of one of his fingers following their clash with Bradford, but will still be ruled out until their Challenge Cup tie with York on February 7.
Veteran forward Brown will undergo hernia removal surgery next week, with his recovery time dependent on how long it takes to heal from that operation, while ex-Wakefield Trinity youngster Bowes still awaits his Cougars debut.
He has been kept out by what the club describe as a ‘minor calf injury’ and they state he will ‘have to wait a little while longer to make his debut’.
Bentley completes the Cougars’ injured list. He will be sidelined for at least the next six weeks while he heals from wrist surgery.
He is doubtful for the start of the new League 1 season because of that timeline. Keighley’s season starts on February 23 when they go to Rochdale Hornets.
Elliott Cousins has fully recovered from the concussion he sustained against Bradford, according to the Cougars, and he will be available for this weekend’s trip to Newcastle.
Brad Holroyd and Billy Walkley are also probably going to be participating because they both passed HIAs in that matchup with the Bulls last month.
