Bradford Bulls "hugely disappointed" to lose Hull F.C. wing

That is not a figure of speech either, but the disappointing reality for head coach Eamon O'Carroll, as winger Jayden Okunbor has been recalled by parent club Hull F.C., after a try-laden loan spell with Bradford.

Bulls' right hand side will undoubtedly be poorer for Okunbor's absence, with O'Carroll telling the T&A: “It’s hugely disappointing to lose Jayden.

“We’ve worked extremely hard with him, and he’s worked hard too.

“He’s integrated himself into the group really well, is well liked among his peers and he was playing well for us.

“It gives someone else an opportunity in the team, which is exciting, but I really hope we’ll be seeing Jayden back here soon.

“Unfortunately, at this stage, we don’t have any indication from Hull of if and when that might be the case.”

Another player missing tomorrow who started last weekend’s win over Doncaster is Lee Gaskell, the veteran half back limping off early on after suffering a reoccurrence of the hamstring injury he suffered at Wakefield on the opening night of the league season.

But O’Carroll said: “It’s a concern but we’re not thinking it’s as bad as that initial injury he suffered in March.

“We’ll see how he goes with his rehabilitation, but hopefully he’ll only be out for a couple of weeks.”

Lee Gaskell is practically irreplaceable in the halves, but someone will have to step in for him tomorrow. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

In Gaskell’s absence, someone else will need to play in the halves alongside Jordan Lilley, which seemingly throws up an interesting selection dilemma.

Tom Holmes, who was signed initially as a half back, is the obvious choice to slot in there, allowing Aidan McGowan to slot back in at full back.

But Holmes has made it clear over the past few months that he prefers being in that No.1 position, so could it be hooker Tyran Ott that slots in alongside Lilley instead, as he has done on more than one occasion this season?

O’Carroll said: “I’m pretty clear on which way we’ll go, though I’ve got confidence in whoever we play there.

“It’s not new to us this situation, being down a half, and we’ve only had two or three games all season with our first choice one, six, seven and nine together in the spine.

“We’ll manage that well and get the amount of repetition in training to ensure it’s the right combination in the halves.”

New prop Franklin Pele, along with outside back Max Lehmann, is set to debut for Bulls at Dewsbury, which is a welcome boost given fellow front row Dan Smith is expected to be a long-term absentee with his calf problem.

Dan Smith made a bright start to life at Bulls earlier this year, but he has been hampered by a calf injury since April. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Chester Butler’s hamstring injury is less serious, but having been ill over the last few days too, he has not recovered in time to face rock-bottom Dewsbury tomorrow.

Asked if guarding against complacency would be key against the weakest side in the division, O’Carroll said: “I think it is.

“We’ve looked over the last few games at things we’ve been doing well and areas we want to do better in and we’ve been seeing little improvements and more consistency in terms of what’s working for us.

“That’s going to be the challenge this week.”