YORK Knights’ star forward Bailey Antrobus is progressing ahead of schedule in his recovery from a long-term knee injury, believes head coach Andrew Henderson.

The Knights boss confirmed that the Welsh ace is likely to be back midway through the Betfred Championship season after an ACL injury sustained in a training ground collision with Pauli Pauli at the end of July.

Former Leeds Rhinos centre Levi Edwards is also firmly on the right track in his recovery from the same injury, having been sidelined since the Knights’ emphatic triumph at Swinton Lions 11 months ago.

They are the only two long-term absentees in Henderson’s squad, which was plagued by injury in 2023, and the head coach has been left pleased by their recoveries.

“They’re doing great,” he explained. “Nothing’s really changed from when I spoke before. 

“They’re due back around mid-season, so they may be back a little bit earlier, or a little bit later. It all depends on how they’re progressing with rehab.

“But at the moment, both players, Levi and Bailey, are progressing.

“I’d probably argue Bailey’s maybe slightly ahead of schedule, so that’s promising and pleasing.”

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There is expected to be an earlier return for Irish prop Ronan Michael, who is set to be available for next month’s Championship opener at Doncaster after undergoing shoulder surgery over the off-season.

“Ronan now is back in full training,” Henderson revealed. “He’s pretty much just got the last part of his contact session to go, so he won’t be far off.

“He’ll be available by Round One, there’s no doubt about that.”

York Press: Josh Daley made his return from injury in the Knights' last-gasp Challenge Cup triumph at Dewsbury Rams last weekend.Josh Daley made his return from injury in the Knights' last-gasp Challenge Cup triumph at Dewsbury Rams last weekend. (Image: Craig Hawkhead)

The Knights boss also explained that hooker Josh Daley, who featured for the first time since September, had come through unscathed from their dramatic Betfred Challenge Cup Third Round triumph at Dewsbury Rams 10 days ago.

Daley played only half an hour upon his return from a PCL knee injury to ensure that his workload was suitably managed.

“He’s been there for a fair bit of time with that injury that he picked up at the back of last year.” Henderson continued.

“We’re very smart with the minutes that we gave him. I think that he played 25 or 30 minutes in that game, which was deliberate. 

“We didn’t want to overexpose him, especially with the conditions. To go from what we train on to then go on the pitch that we had to play on at Dewsbury which was very boggy and very heavy, it just would not have been wise to play him any longer than that.

“We’re looking forward to continuing to progress him and build him back up again for the future. It’s great to have him back on board.”