JAMES FORD has backed captain marvel James Haynes to come back as good as ever from his latest injury nightmare.

York City Knights boss Ford has already put his money where his mouth is, keeping Haynes as his club captain in 2016, even though the 26-year-old is set to be sidelined until July following his knee reconstruction, potentially missing all of the regular season prior to the Super 8s.

The former Hull KR junior has returned from serious injury before, of course, having seen his entire career threatened by an ongoing back problem that made him miss almost two years of professional rugby league. And Ford says if anyone can successfully fight back from another long spell on the sidelines, then it is the Hull-based ace.

“He's into his rehabilitation,” said Ford, the swelling on the player's knee having now gone down sufficiently.

"He's used his time off well and he's got contacts in and around Hull who are involved in professional sport so he's been accessing some extra medical care.

“He’s very single-minded and very focused on coming back stronger than ever. He's also very mentally strong and continues to show immense character. I’m confident he will hit the standards he was hitting before this injury.”

Hull-based Haynes, who first joined York in the 2010 promotion season, missed all of 2012 with back issues linked to a serious sciatic nerve problem and spent much of 2013 in the amateur game as he rediscovered fitness and form.

After his successful return in 2014, he was given the armband at the start of this year only to then miss 12 games between April and July as back trouble resurfaced. Four games into his return, Haynes suffered a grade two tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in an innocuous-looking challenge against Oxford on August 9.

The player himself, who is contracted to the club until the end of 2016, has already vowed to "hit the ground running" on his return, and recently declared his operation had gone well.

And Ford has backed up that claim.

“It takes its toll on you mentally when you’re frequently injured. I have great sympathy with him, but he deals with it all so very well," said Ford, who was likewise hit by damaging injuries at times in his playing career.

“It is hard to deal with that amount of disappointment. I know personally how it can affect you.

“He’s done a really good job not only of that but also of being a real good influence around the boys.

“He will continue to have a huge influence on them in the meantime, on how they train and how they conduct themselves, and that’s why he is a true captain.”

The 2016 League One campaign will have a new look, with 15 teams playing a 14-game regular season running from March to July, after which the top eight break off into a Super 8s mini-league to match similar formats in the top two domestic divisions. Top-five play-offs will then decide the two promotion places. The bottom seven, meanwhile, play for a League One Shield.

Ford was confident Haynes would be back for the Super 8s - assuming the club qualified.

“There’s an outside chance he might be available for around the Toulouse away game (on July 2)," said Ford, referring to his team's penultimate match of the regular season.

“We need to get him through pretty tough training before then of course and make sure he’s fit enough firstly so that he doesn’t break down again and secondly so that he hits his standards.

“If there’s one player who can do that, it’s James Haynes."