BARROW Raiders physio Sean Riley has said that Jarrod Sammut is making steady progress on his ankle injury.

Sammut sustained an ankle injury following the Raiders’ 34-22 pre-season victory against Newcastle Thunder last month.

Paul Crarey had named the 34-year-old in the 21-man squad on the opening fixture of the Championship season against Sheffield Eagles but was unable to recover from the injury, subsequently being replaced by Jake Carter.

Providing an update on his injury, physio Sean Riley asserts that Jarrod is making steady progress but warns that he may require more treatment before we see the half-back return to action: “Jarrod is getting there, I’m not promising nothing for this week.

“He’s not really trained since he went over on it [his ankle], but unfortunately with it being weak, he went over on it again, so it’s a double whammy with ankle ligaments.

“If he comes through alright, there’s a possibility [that he might feature] for this weekend; although I’ve looked at another couple of weeks planned with him.

“We will treat him systematically and if he’s good, then we will see where he is at.”

Sean Riley is confident that we could see the return of both Shane Toal and Tom Hopkins very soon, especially after the Raiders picked up several head injuries in their clash against Newcastle Thunder: “Shane is alright, he had injured his medial knee ligament in the last friendly [against Newcastle Thunder last month].

“He has responded well to treatment, and it’s the same with Tom. Their dedication to rehab, what they do in their own time and their willingness to get back is fantastic.

“Both Tom and Shane are ahead of schedule, we’re looking at getting them back in the Challenge Cup against Rochdale but I think we might get away with this weekend, especially as we have picked up a couple of head injuries on Sunday that will be ruling those players out due to concussion.

“I am really pleased with how both of them have done, and maybe we will see them back again this weekend.”