EZE Harper is in line to make his return for Barrow Raiders tomorrow after completing his move back to Craven Park from Sheffield Eagles.

The three-quarter, who scored 11 tries in 12 appearances while on loan from Leigh Centurions last year, made the switch to the Eagles during the off-season after being unable to agree a permanent move to Barrow.

But his spell with the Kingstone Press Championship side proved an unhappy one and he is now back at the Raiders, with his signing coming in time for Harper to feature against Hunslet after a rash of injuries decimated head coach Paul Crarey's options in the centre.

“It's come at a welcome time,” said Crarey. “He played at centre for Leigh and he's played there for Sheffield, and he's got some quality players in front of him at Sheffield.

“He wanted to stay at Barrow (last year), but the fee his agent was asking at the time was too high and we opted to go somewhere else.

“But he wasn't enjoying it at Sheffield, and he phoned me and said 'I'd like the opportunity to come and play at Barrow again'.

“You look at the injuries in the centres we've had and some of the players playing there are wingers, but Eze has done it before so it's a chance for him as well and he's got to take it, because you soon get found out if you can't do it.”

Harper has been training with the club for the past three weeks, but it has taken time for his registration to come through after Sheffield agreed to release him from his contract.

The 22-year-old has signed with the Raiders until the end of the 2017 season and director of rugby Andy Gaffney hopes he can show he deserves a longer-term deal – particular if the club are to achieve their aim of winning promotion.

“It's a deal until the end of the year at the moment and then we'll go from there,” said Gaffney. “He's been given an opportunity to come back to Barrow, and it's up to him to have a really good season and see if he can earn a contract for next year.

“It's come at a good time because we are struggling in that position with injuries and everyone at the club knows what he is all about; he's a strong kid, very athletic and I'm sure he'll be competing for a starting spot.

“He knows the club pretty well, he knows how we play and he was with us for most of last year, so it's a good fit for us all-round.”

Litherland and Loxam are not the only players ruled out for the visit of Hunslet, with skipper Ollie Wilkes having torn a calf muscle that could keep him on the sidelines for up to six weeks.

That means Tom Walker is set to start in the front row alongside Joe Bullock, with Andrew Dawson, Brad Brennan, James Duerden and even Martin Aspinwall able to slot in at prop if required.