Castleford Tigers Boss Talks Injury, George Lawler Comeback And Recruitment Struggles

Castleford Tigers co-captain Paul McShane continues to play the waiting game in his bid to keep his season alive.

The 2020 Super League Man of Steel underwent an operation on a broken arm last year and recently had the plates removed due to complications which caused an infection.

McShane has not played since May and his prognosis remains open-ended.

In an update to The Yorkshire Post, Tigers boss Craig Lingard said: “He hasn’t done any training at all since he had the op.

“We’re still waiting for the all-clear from the specialist so he can start doing some weight-bearing stuff on that arm.

“He can now get back on the bike and do some lower-body stuff but we’re still waiting to see the strength of the bone in his arm before he can do anything else.

“We’re not planning on getting him back anytime soon. He could get the all-clear to return to training and be back in two weeks or he could have a reaction as soon as he picks a weight up so it’s a really difficult one to give a definite answer on.”

The influential hooker has been restricted to just six appearances since sustaining the original injury last June.

“It’s not ideal for him or us,” added Lingard.

“For somebody like Macca who has achieved what he has in his career playing at the highest level, it must be really frustrating.

“Hopefully he can get back fit and playing fairly soon but it’s a toss of the coin when that’s going to be.”

Lingard’s pack options for Friday’s trip to St Helens have been bolstered by George Lawler’s return to full health.

The forward suffered a bleed on his brain in early April but is on the brink of a miraculous Super League comeback after clearing the biggest hurdle yet last weekend.

“George Lawler came through the reserves game alright so he’ll be in contention,” said Lingard.

“That was open-ended like Macca. It could have quite easily been career-ending but it’s not been as drastic as what people initially thought it was going to be.

“It’s turned into a nice story. Fingers crossed he can now look forward to a long career.”

Muizz Mustapha could join Lawler in the pack at the Totally Wicked Stadium but Lingard is sweating over the fitness of England new boy Sam Wood.

The centre’s ever-present record is under threat after he picked up an issue on international duty.

“Muzzy Mustapha has gone well in the reserves and has been training well so he’ll be in contention as well,” said Lingard.

“Sam Wood picked up a bit of a knock against France for England so we’re monitoring him at the minute.

“I don’t think we’ll have any long-term absentees back this week.”

Wood’s England debut came just months into his Wheldon Road stay, representing an early win for Castleford after a focus on hungry, unproven players in their recruitment for 2024.

Lingard is hoping the international recognition sends a positive message to potential signings.

“It was probably a little bit unexpected,” said Lingard on Wood’s call-up.

“You don’t always find players in the England side from teams down the bottom end of the table.

“It’s a bit of a win for us after going down the route we had to go down in terms of recruitment with the money that was taken out of the playing budget and put into the ground.

“We were maybe forced into doing that but it’s turned into a bit of a blessing in disguise. We’ve got a lot of fresh and younger bodies in who have got more rugby in front of them than behind them.

“In the recruitment aspect, we can say to players that if you come here and get regular game time, you can get recognised internationally.”

Castleford’s focus for 2025 has shifted to more established players but they continue to hit roadblocks.

Lingard has put the club’s recruitment struggles down to the market rather than the uncertainty over the Tigers’ Super League status.

“We’re really confident that we’re going to be in Super League and are not planning for anything else other than Super League,” said Lingard, who will not find out for certain until October.

“More so two or three months ago when initial conversations started happening about players for next season, people were a little bit reluctant to commit to us or even have conversations with us – but I think the message is getting out there now that we’re comfortable we’ll be in Super League.

“The market in the UK this year is pretty much non-existent in terms of players moving clubs or becoming available. The ones who have become available have had four or five clubs in for them so it’s difficult to get those quality players.

“We have been speaking to players, agents and clubs over in Australia about trying to get people in. We’ve missed out on a couple of targets that have stayed in the NRL. We are looking and having conversations but it’s difficult.”