YORK City Knights were able to breathe a sigh of relief after fears of broken ribs for full-back Tom Carr were dispelled.

Carr, the Knights signing from Featherstone Rovers, was injuured during the Knights’ squad-bonding session at an army base, near Ripon, as part of the pre-season training programme.

Fears were that if there were any fractures then it could mean the Knights starting the upcoming season without a recognised full-back.

Carr and James Haynes are the two full-backs, but Haynes isn’t yet in full-contact training having missed all of 2012 with a serious back problem. He isn’t expected to be 100 per cent fit for the start of January.

But Knights coach Gary Thornton told The Press those fears have proved unfounded after Carr checked the damage out at hospital.

Said Thornton: “He did the right thing in getting it checked out and the hospital have said that it’s nothing but bruising around his ribs.

“There’s no break just the bruising and he should be all right in a week or two, so it should not prove a setback either for Tom or for the club.”

Thornton was delighted by the exercise at the army camp, adding: “It was really well organised and it gave the players something a bit different from the norm. We got a lot out of it.”