Castleford Tigers' Jake Trueman set to begin long road to fitness after back surgery says coach Daryl Powell

Stand-off Jake Trueman will be fit and ready to go next season, his Castleford Tigers coach Daryl Powell says.
Jake Trueman scored for Tigers at Wembley, but has not played since. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.Jake Trueman scored for Tigers at Wembley, but has not played since. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.
Jake Trueman scored for Tigers at Wembley, but has not played since. Picture by Bruce Rollinson.

Trueman has been struggling with a back injury suffered last year and not played since Tigers’ Challenge Cup final loss to St Helens a month ago.

The 22-year-old underwent surgery yesterday and Powell reckons there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.

“Hopefully he is okay,” Powell said.

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“He will come out of that and then he will start his road back to playing again next year

“I think he will just be relieved he has found out exactly what it is and he can come out the other side of it.”

Powell added: “The hardest thing for him was he didn’t know what the issue was.

“Watching him walk around the last few weeks has been heartbreaking.

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“He has been twisted to one side and bent over and it has not been good to see a young bloke like that.”

Trueman won’t play again his year, but Powell confirmed: “I think he will be all right for pre-season and into next season.”

Gareth O’Brien and Danny Richardson will continue in the halves for Saturday’s home derby against Wakefield Trinity.

It will be Castleford’s first game since they ended a 31-year wait for a victory away to St Helens with a 20-10 win last Friday.

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That came a week after a derby success at Leeds Rhinos and Powell admitted the squad and staff have spoken about avoiding a drop off from those emotional highs.

“The challenge for us now is to maintain that edge and positivity,” he said.

“Wakefield won last week and they’ve changed coach, which is always a red flag for the opposition.

“We’ve spoken about being consistent and not getting too far ahead of ourselves, just concentrating on the next game. We know Wakefield will come after us , they are going to put their foot down and look to play really well.

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“For us, it’s important we focus on ourselves and don’t just think the game is going to happen. We’ve got to make things happen.”

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