CONNOR ROBINSON could be in the frame for York City Knights tonight as they travel to fellow Betfred Championship high-fliers Sheffield Eagles.

The half-back was forced to leave the field with half an hour remaining in last Sunday’s 24-21 comeback win over Dewsbury Rams.

But assessments on Monday revealed the extent of the injury to be less worrisome than first feared - though Robinson will not be risked if he is anything below peak condition.

“We’ll see how he is at training,” head coach James Ford said. “We’ll give him as much time as we can and we won’t play him if he isn’t 100 per cent.

“Obviously it’s not too bad. It’s positive that it’s not a long-term issue and he’ll hopefully be back tomorrow.”

Of the squad from the Dewsbury game, the sole player who does not make the provisional 20-man squad is prop-forward Ronan Dixon, who has been ruled out with a slight injury.

But Ford has reiterated the faith he has in his Knights squad which he has demonstrated over the course of last week.

With Championship games against Swinton Lions and Dewsbury either side of an 1895 Cup fixture against Batley Bulldogs all within seven days, Ford has employed no fewer than 26 different players in order to keep his squad fresh.

The only game of that trio without a positive outcome for York was the Bulldogs game, which was settled by a golden-point drop-goal after the Knights - with nine new faces from the Swinton game - had battled back to level from 16-8 down.

Furthermore, Ford has also insisted the busy schedule does not add an extra challenge for his side, with Sheffield having played last Thursday and Sunday. 
He said: “Both teams are in the same predicament, which is why it was really important to rotate the squad midweek.

“Hopefully (Dixon) is not out too long.

“But we’ve got quality players who have missed out and they will be willing to prove a point.”

Sheffield’s win at Bootham Crescent in March was their eighth consecutive triumph over the Knights - though it was the sides’ first meeting since 2013.

A former team-mate of Ford’s from Widnes and York, Anthony Thackeray, set up two tries for second-rower Ben Hellewell that day. Thackeray has scored in the Eagles’ two most recent outings, against Leigh and Doncaster.

Two players unlikely to feature for Sheffield today are the injured duo James Glover and Matty James.

Former Knights prop-forward Rory Dixon has returned to the Olympic Legacy Park from a month-long loan at Hunslet, scoring in last Thursday’s 38-32 1895 Cup quarter-final win over Doncaster.

Young forward Pat Moran arrived on loan at Sheffield from Super League outfit Warrington Wolves in April, making an immediate impression on head coach Mark Aston, for whom the 21-year-old featured last week against Leigh.

Meanwhile, Tim Spears has received a one-match penalty notice for contact with a match official against Dewsbury. He misses the Batley game next week.

York’s provisional 20-man squad: Marsh, Oakes, Bass, C Scott, Whiteley, Harris, Robinson, Teanby, Jubb, Horne, Salter, Jordan-Roberts, Spears, Brining, Blagbrough, Stock, Baldwinson, Hey, S Scott, Carter.