ANDREW Henderson is hopeful that York Knights will receive a half-back boost with the returns of Ata Hingano and Nikau Williams for Sunday's trip to Batley Bulldogs (3pm).

Hingano, who has been utilised both in the halves and as a ball-playing loose forward this season, missed last weekend’s victory against Bradford Bulls after picking up a knock in a Man of the Match performance against Betfred Championship title favourites Wakefield Trinity.

With injuries and suspension having forced the Tongan back into the halves over recent weeks, in his absence, captain Liam Harris was instead partnered by the versatile Taylor Pemberton in an assured performance against a Bulls side fancying their chances of another two points in North Yorkshire.

Williams, who has now served his four-match suspension for a Dangerous Contact charge against Doncaster in Round One, is also set to make a timely return.

“[Hingano] obviously had a slight knock off of the back of the Wakefield game and wasn’t right for Sunday’s game against Bradford,” the head coach explained.

“We’re hopeful that he will be available for selection against Batley, but we’ll know by the end of the week.

“We’ve still got a few missing at the moment. I’ll be assessing things this week and if we manage to get one or two back that will be great.

“Nikau Williams, he comes back off of suspension this week so he will be available. Any other players will be a question that we will know by the end of the week.”

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Former Heworth youngster Charlie Severs however will not feature, having taken a knock to the head shortly before half-time against Bradford.

The Hull FC loanee has turned out in the second row, on the right wing, and even partnered Jimmy Keinhorst in the centres last weekend.

“He’s doing okay and he’s on the concussion protocol, so he’s unavailable,” Henderson said of the 20-year-old, who did return to play out the final minutes of the first half before becoming symptomatic.

“He’s on a 12-day turnaround to get back to being available and will miss this week unfortunately.

“So far so good, he hasn’t experienced anything yet and is in the early stages of it at the moment. He’s gone back to Hull FC and his parent club are monitoring him regarding that procedure, so we’ll get updates as soon as they transpire.”

York Press: Gannon was helped from the field during last weekend's victory against Bradford.Gannon was helped from the field during last weekend's victory against Bradford. (Image: Craig Hawkhead)

Leigh Leopards forward Jacob Gannon is also a doubt after limping off against the Bulls, whilst Oli Field and Jesse Dee are continuing in their respective recoveries.

“We’ve sent [Gannon] for an x-ray and further investigation, so we’ll know more on that later,” he continued.

“Jesse Dee won’t be available, he’s got a bicep tear so he’s missing currently. I can’t state exactly when he will be back from that one.

"Oli Field came off against Wakefield and is having a bit of a respiratory issue.”

Henderson admitted that the club’s mounting injury list had forced him to evaluate things off the field, but that the majority had occurred during games rather than on the training pitch.

He explained: “We clearly looked at one or two things that we have changed from the back of last season, going into this season with the personnel.

“The reality is that if it’s coming to injuries and you are getting a lot of soft tissue injuries, then you have to look at your training programme and potentially alter what you’re doing.

“The reality is that what the players have been missing with this year are injuries in games, Richie Myler tore his ligaments in his elbow when handing someone off, Jesse Dee tore a bicep in a game, Keinhorst rolled an ankle and [Will] Dagger had a horrific armpit tear injury.

“The majority of the injuries have come off of contact injuries, and we have had an element of suspensions -  we’ve found it tough with discipline before and have had four players at least, maybe five, suspended for games this season already.

“There’s been a combination of both, but I’m hopeful that as the cavalry starts to come back then we will have a little bit more continuity and cohesion within the squad and within the team.

“Hopefully our best rugby is ahead of us.”