Castleford Tigers Desperate to Bolster Injury-Ravaged Squad as Craig Lingard Confirms More Signings on the Way
In the wake of Castleford Tigers’ mounting injury crisis, coach Craig Lingard has revealed that the club is actively pursuing additional reinforcements to shore up their depleted roster. Earlier this week, the team confirmed the loan signing of winger Louis Senior from Hull KR, and Lingard has now hinted that Senior may just be the first of “several more bodies” to join the Tigers.
Injury Crisis Leaves Tigers Struggling
The club’s injury list has ballooned to an alarming 15 players, further exacerbated by the suspension handed to Sylvester Namo. This has left Castleford with a bare-bones squad, forcing them to name just a 19-man lineup for this week’s Super League clash against Wigan Warriors, rather than the standard 21 players.
“We were down to one out-and-out winger, so we needed to strengthen that department,” Lingard told BBC Radio Leeds. “We’re pleased to get him in for that initial two-week period, hopefully, it’s going to be longer than that.”
Ongoing Discussions for Additional Signings
Lingard expressed the team’s urgency to strengthen their wing position, particularly with the arrival of Senior, who will team up with twin Innes to form a formidable edge for the Tigers.
The Castleford coach further revealed that the club has been engaged in ongoing discussions with other teams, with the aim of securing more signings in the coming days.
“Conversations that we’ve had as a club with other clubs as well, have been, ongoing, hour by hour. Things change and things move. Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to bring anybody else in this week, and it’s not been through a lack of trying behind the scenes,” Lingard said.
Potential for More Signings Next Week
Lingard remained cautiously optimistic, suggesting that the club could potentially acquire “several more bodies” next week, pending the outcome of this weekend’s matches and the team’s injury situation.
“We’re hoping there’s going to be a little bit more movement after this week and potentially early next week. We might get several more bodies in, but again, that depends on what happens this week in games and how our team has pulled through with players in respect of injuries and suspensions,” he added.
Sacrificing Interchange for Immediate Reinforcements
Despite the challenges, Lingard acknowledged that the club may need to act swiftly to bolster their squad, even if it means sacrificing an interchange for their upcoming game against Wigan.
“If we brought somebody in and we wanted to add him to the squad after that point, then we’d lose an interchange from the game on the Friday. So we could, theoretically, still do it after the deadline, which would be 12 o’clock today, but it would cost us an interchange if we brought anybody else into our 21-man squad,” he explained.
As Castleford Tigers continue to navigate this injury-plagued campaign, their fans will be hoping that Lingard’s efforts to recruit reinforcements will pay dividends and help the team regain their competitive edge.
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