YORK City Knights have received an approach from a Super League club for star hooker Kriss Brining, The Press can reveal.

The 22-year-old try machine rejected a move to Championship big-guns Featherstone Rovers at the start of this season in what was deemed a major boost to the Knights' promotion aspirations in League One.

But he could soon be on his way, just two months later, this time to the top tier.

The club in question has not been named but The Press understands it to be Salford Red Devils.

It is thought the respective boards are in negotiations over a transfer fee - which is likely to be a significant five-figure sum - while Brining has been allowed to discuss personal terms.

While his departure would be another commendation for the Knights' success in developing young talent, following on from Greg Minikin's move to Castleford, it would also severely dent their league challenge - especially with fellow hooker Harry Carter having been ruled out indefinitely after suffering suspected medial ligament damage in Sunday's defeat at Barrow.

Brining, The Press Player of the Month for April, has bagged ten tries in ten outings this year, after notching 23 in 19 appearances last year.

He currently sits high up League One's try charts with eight from five games.

Knights head coach James Ford would only confirm that an approach from an "unnamed club" had been received for the Scarborough-born homegrown talent.

"We have had an approach for Kriss Brining and we have allowed Kriss to speak to them," he said.

"The matter is now with the two club boards and Kriss himself.

"I don't want to lose him as a player or a friend. He's a great player for us and is a big part of what we do on and off the field. But at the same time we want to let him make his own decision. He's got to look after his own career.

"I've got to allow Kriss to speak to this club. The reason people train hard and play as well as they can is because they want to play at the highest level they can. For me to not allow Kriss to speak to them would be poor."

He added: "It's another pat on the back for the things we're doing and the environment we're creating. We've had one player (Minikin) recently move into Super League and play well at that level and another, Colton Roche, move to Featherstone, with reports coming back that he's performing very well.

"The interest in Kriss from another top club shows that what the staff and the boys are doing is working.

"If we keep at it and keep doing what we're doing, I'm sure more of the boys will attract this kind of attention."

Asked if Carter's injury would make this a particularly bad time for Brining to depart, Ford said: "There'd never be a good time to lose Kriss or what he brings us.

"Are we going to be able to get a like-for-like replacement? Probably not. But, should we lose Kriss to Super League, it's my job to look at the good players we have and how we can switch things around to accommodate that."

Carter's knee was being assessed this week.

The worst-case scenario is three or four months on the sidelines for the March Player of the Month, but it is hoped his absence will be much more short-term.

Video evidence suggests the injury was caused by an impact on his knee, with the 22-year-old playing on for five minutes before coming off. He had an ice pack on his knee and was using crutches after the match.

Said Ford: "Harry's a tough kid - he played on once with a broken hand in an under-18s game without telling me, which is daft but shows how brave he is.

"The initial diagnosis was probable medial ligament damage so we'll have to see. Obviously we hope he will be back sooner rather than later."

Should Brining leave, and Carter be ruled out, it would leave Ford with only Pat Smith, a half-back or hooker who has played only twice this term after being unavailable throughout pre-season, and Mike Emmett, who has played all year at loose-forward, as his two remaining options for the dummy-half role.