Simon Grix has stated that Hull FC duo Danny Houghton and Carlos Tuimavave are "50/50" to make Saturday's final game of the season against Catalans Dragons. Both players are aiming to play in their final games for the club against the French side, with Houghton retiring and Tuimavave moving onto pastures new.
Picking up a calf injury three weeks ago, Houghton is 'pushing like mad' to play, with Tuimavave, along with Tom Briscoe, also looking to return after missing the defeat to Salford Red Devils last week due to 'illness.' Jed Cartwright is also back after completing a one-match suspension.
Grix also commented on Ligi Sao and Jake Trueman, with both players still in contention to play in the MKM Stadium fixture. Sao has been nursing an ankle issue, while Trueman picked up a calf injury several weeks ago.
"We've got a few people that we need to check on," Grix said in his pre-match press conference. "We didn't have Carlos, Ligi, and Brisc—we need to do checks on them, and then Danny is pushing like mad to play.
"If you asked them right now, they're 100% playing, I suppose. I want them to play, but we still have to think about the team over the individual. We will see. They've got a 50/50 shot, I'd say. They've got their bits going on, and we'll see what they look like. I'm hopeful they will play. It'd be great for them to go out onto the pitch as opposed to sitting in the stands, so we'll see what happens.
"There is going to be some change. We need to speak to the physios and get some last bits of information, and then we'll decide on the squad. That's been the case for the last six or so weeks now."
On Sao and Trueman, Grix continued: "Ligi has trained and joined in a bit today. It's very much up to Ligi to see how he feels. There is no next week, so hopefully he can pull through for us.
"We need to have a conversation now about Truey. He's trained really well. He's going to be a bit rusty, he's had a few weeks off, but with regards to how he looked in training, he looks like he's there. We will speak to the physios and speak to Truey and see what he's thinking. It'll be great to have him out there. He's another bloke departing, and while we haven't seen the best of Truey, he's had a rough period, and we certainly wish him all the best. It will be nice to get him out one more time."
Grix also confirmed season-ending knocks for Davy Litten (knee), Brad Fash (ankle), and Ed Chamberlain (shoulder), with the interim coach giving a full update to Hull Live.
"We don't know how serious Davy is yet," Grix, who said every measure was taken before fielding the player last week, explained. "They've put him back in the brace, just in case, and he's a bit sore. He will go see the specialist again. It's really unfortunate, and it does happen now and again.
"I've had it myself; you have the surgery, do your rehab, come back, and then game one, bang, and you're off again. It's disheartening for him, but I'm pleased and proud of how hard he pushed himself to give himself a shot at playing. That's the important bit. We can probably now, in hindsight, argue whether it was too soon or not, but if you saw him in training the week before, he was brilliant. He did everything and ticked every box. It's unfortunate, but let's hope it's not too bad."
"On Ed and Brad, there's further investigation needed. I know they're both struggling, and they won't be available this week. We'll find out by the end of the week how severe they are."
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