Castleford Tigers hoping Luke Gale and Ben Roberts are ready for return against Catalans Dragons

Coach Daryl Powell is confident Man of Steel Luke Gale and fellow pivot Ben Roberts will be available for Saturday evening’s visit of Ladbrokes Challenge Cup winners Catalans Dragons in the Betfred Super-8s.

Tigers, though, are likely to be without Jamie Ellis who has a back injury.

Gale has not played since suffering a fractured kneecap four months ago.

Saturday’s game was targeted for his comeback and Powell confirmed: “Hopefully he will get through the week okay and will be out there.

“Everybody knows what a good player he is.

“It will take him a bit of time to get to where he wants to be, but it is great to have him available and coming in and getting up to speed with a bit of time before the end of the season.”

Roberts has been out of action for a week longer than Gale, due to hamstring and knee injuries.

“He should be available,” said Powell. “He has been training for the last couple of weeks. When they’re back I’ll have some decisions to make, which is what you want.”

Ellis replaced Roberts at stand-off and Powell said: “He has injured his back. I don’t think it is massively bad, but he has not trained the last couple of sessions.”