Taaffe, new to Super League after signing from Canterbury Bulldogs, suffered the injury in the opening Super League game of the season against Wigan Warriors.

It is believed that the speedster actually picked up the blow early in the game, but he was able to carry on for the remainder of the game.

Subsequent scan results then showed the worst news possible, and confirmed that Taaffe’s 2026 season was over before it even got going.

He has now provided an update on where his recovery is currently at, and how he is fast approaching the next step of his rehab.

“Everything’s going well,” he said to the Castleford Tigers podcast on YouTube. “We’re about three months in now, so I’m getting around a lot better.

“Still a long road from where I need to be, but just [taking it] day by day, at the moment and hopefully I’m on the field running next week, so good signs and looking forward to it.”

Taaffe out on the sidelines forced the club to go into the market, and as a result they have brought in former Hull KR and Catalans man Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e to fill the numer one role.

After a shaky debut, he has performed excellently in Ryan Carr’s side, and that has earned him plenty of praise from the overseas star.

“I might not even have a spot next year, he’s getting stronger every week!” Taaffe joked. “He’s got very good footwork. It’s been good to see someone come in.

“Losing me in round one, Fletcher Rooney in round three to a hammy which has put him out for almost the whole season, I think we’ve been searching for someone to come in.

“We had [Zac] Cini there, but seeing young ‘PLT’ come in, it’s been good. It’s been a breath of fresh air.

“A young kid out the back, but yeah I think the way he’s been playing at the moment has been good, he’s just got to keep building and working.”

Castleford Tigers need to ‘believe’ says injured star

With him out of the side, the Tigers have had a very mixed start to the year. However, after wins over York and St Helens back-to-back, there is a strong feeling around the club that they could finally start to build some momentum going into the rest of the year.

Assessing why the performances have been so fluctuant this year, Taaffe explained: “How we started was [with] a bit of adversity, I think. A few speed bumps along the way. A lot of injuries.

“We got our depth tested a lot. Some boys had to stand up, which was good, and we got to see those youngster crop coming through.

“At the moment, I think now we’ve made a good few mid-year signings, who have come through and really helped out our squad, I think Carry [Ryan Carr] is doing a great job with the coaching and stuff.

“I still think we’re nowhere near where we should be, I think we’ve got a lot of room for improvement, but I think the biggest thing for us is kind of just believing in ourselves.

“Knowing that we can go out there against St Helens and put 30 points on them, because they’re the benchmark right now in second. So, I think just belief really, and believing that we can do it, matching with the big teams.”