Scott Taylor set for return after six months out
Hull vice-captain Scott Taylor will put six months of frustration behind him when he makes his comeback from a back injury in Thursday night’s Betfred Super League game at Castleford.
Taylor, 29, says he had been nursing the problem for the last two years and started the first seven matches of the season but suffered a recurrence on his return from lockdown.
He said: “I took a whack a couple of years ago, a real bad one, but I managed to maintain it over the last season or two.
“But when we came back from the lockdown and did our first full contact, I took another whack on it and it set me back massively.
“I had to see a specialist and we managed to get an epidural type thing to clear away a lot of the rubbish. There’s a bit going on there at the bottom of my spine.
“It’s something I need to learn to deal with for the rest of my career but it’s now the best it’s felt. I definitely don’t need surgery, it’s nowhere near that point.
“It’s definitely the longest I’ve gone in my professional career without playing a game and it’s definitely been the most challenging mentally.
“The hardest part was sitting on the sofa watching the games. I don’t like not being able to have an impact. But I’ve got through it and I’m buzzing that I can be back out there and try to affect the results.”
Taylor’s last appearance came in the Black and Whites’ 38-4 home defeat by Warrington in March, which cost Lee Radford his job as head coach.
The club’s fortunes have shown little sign of improving since then, with Last enjoying just one win in five league matches, but Radford believes Radford’s successor deserves the chance to turn them around.
“Lasty is slowing getting his stamp on the place,” Taylor added. “He’s working his socks off. I know the fans are frustrated but we are working hard to put it right.
“He’s been through a lot – he had two days and then we went into lockdown – but he’s a true professional. I do think he’s the right man for the job and I know for a fact the boys are all behind him.”
