League 1 heavyweights issue pre-season injury update with quintet sidelined

League 1 outfit Keighley Cougars have issued a pre-season injury update, with five of their stars currently sidelined ahead of this weekend’s friendly with Newcastle Thunder.

Jake Webster’s side have already taken to the field once this pre-season – losing out 26-0 against neighbours Bradford Bulls at Odsal on December 23 in a ‘City of Culture’ clash.

Having finished 2nd in League 1 last term and lost out in the play-offs, they will take to the field on Sunday up in the North East against Newcastle Thunder before hosting Championship side Halifax Panthers seven days later.

Competitive action will resume at the start of February, when Keighley enter both the 1895 Cup and Challenge Cup, and Webster’s squad might well still be light then.

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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’.

Rounding off the Cougars’ injury list is Bentley, who will be out for at least the next six weeks as he recovers from surgery on his wrist.

That timeframe makes him a doubt for the start of the new League 1 campaign, which Keighley begin on February 23 with a trip to Rochdale Hornets.

Elsewhere, the Cougars report that Elliott Cousins has recovered from the concussion he suffered against Bradford, and will be in contention for their trip to Newcastle this weekend.

Both Billy Walkley and Brad Holroyd are also likely to be involved having passed HIA’s during that clash with the Bulls last month.

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