Castleford Tigers interest in Hull FC man confirmed but injury worries linger ahead of Leeds Rhinos derby

McGuire also says half-back Rowan Milnes is getting closer to fitness, but he does not expect any players back from injury when Tigers visit Leeds Rhinos – who are another team with fitness concerns – on Sunday. Lane is out of contract at the end of this season and has been linked with Tigers by the Hull Daily Mail.

Speaking at his weekly preview press conference this morning McGuire revealed there is “some heat” in the reports, but insisted a deal is not yet done. He said: “He is somebody I like as a player and somebody who has probably not unearthed his potential. He has still got a lot left in him. He is a Hull player at the minute and nothing has been finalised as yet, but he’d be somebody we are interested in and conversations are on-going for players for next year. I respect Hull FC and he is playing for them at the minute so until anything’s announced, I can’t really say too much.”

The coach stressed Tigers, who are yet to win in 2025 and have a lengthy injury list, are still looking to recruit for this season. Winger Lee Kershaw is set to make his second appearance on loan from Hull KR on Sunday and McGuire said: “Middle is a priority - we probably need more competition in that area.

“Phuysically we struggled a bit against a big St Helens side last week so that’s something we are trying to address. But it is what it is at the minute, we are working hard and all the players are tipping in and doing everything possible to try and play well this week. There’s always stuff going on on the periphery, but my focus is on preparing the players and getting them ready for Sunday.”

Milnes has yet to play this year after suffering a knee injury in pre-season, but is now in light training and McGuire said: “That’s really good to see. I am excited to get Rowan back. He is doing a fair bit of practice and he is moving well. He has still got a few things he has to tick medically before he can go into full contact so I would estimate he’ll be back after the Challenge Cup break [on the weekend of March 14-16]. We are not in the Challenge Cup so we get to train and work hard in that week and hopefully he should come into full training around then.”

McGuire will name an initial 21-man squad to face Leeds at noon tomorrow. He said: “It will be very similar to last week. We’ve got no one coming back and there’s a few bumps and bruises we are checking on. We haven’t finalised the team yet, but the way I am thinking at the minute is it is a chance for the players who didn’t perform the way we wanted them to last week to respond. As a coach you have got to have that trust and belief they will go out and do that for you.”