Injury worries continue for Castleford Tigers ahead of trip to St Helens but key man nears return

But assistant-coach Andy Last has revealed long-term casualty Jordan Turner is now back in training and expected to return in the next two weeks.

Back Jake Mamo has been ruled out after suffering concussion during last week’s defeat by Wakefield Trinity and forwards Daniel Smith and Adam Milner are in doubt.

Head coach Lee Radford will name an initial squad on Friday afternoon, but Last admitted a 17 won’t be finalised until the following day.

"We’ll have some guys in for treatment and we’ll see how they pull up after that and do some final checks on team run day,” Last said.

"We’ve got a bit of a doubt on Dan Smith, with a bit of a calf muscle injury.

"Adam Milner has got a bit of a foot problem and hasn’t trained in the early part of the week, but he has responded well to treatment.

“There’s a chance those two could still make the 17, but there’s only Jake Mamo [from last week’s team] who's not available for selection, with his head knock.”

Gareth O'Brien is back in contention after missing the Wakefield defeat because of concussion.

Last said: “He has passed all his protocols so could come back into the halves, which would give us the luxury of moving Greg Eden to full-back, but Jason Qareqare has trained there as well this week.

“It has been a really difficult week from a preparation point of view because it has been a case of square pegs in round holes."

Meanwhile, Turner – who can play in a number of roles – has been sidelined since suffering a shoulder injury in April, but is close to making his comeback.

Last said: “This is his second week back in training and we’re starting to build up his contact, which is great for him and great for us.

"He’s an experienced player and someone we’ve missed.

"He has got a strong voice and he’s a strike weapon on the edge.

"He has a chance possibly next week and I’d like to say definitely the week after.”