Will Pryce set for return as Huddersfield Giants receive positive Chris Hill news

Huddersfield Giants boss Ian Watson says Chris Hill’s injury is not as bad as first feared - and he’s praised club captain Michael Lawrence after he was left out of the Challenge Cup final.

The West Yorkshire club were worried England prop Hill could miss the rest of the season after being helped off in agony in Saturday’s final defeat to Wigan. But Hill, 34, has had positive news after the calf problem was investigated.

Ahead of Friday’s Super League game at Catalans Dragons, Watson said: “It’s better than what we thought. It looked terrible after he came off. We thought it was a calf rupture and it looked like four months.

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“It’s not going to be that now. It could be eight weeks, maybe a maximum of ten. While that’s still high, from what we were being reported at first, it’s a hell of a lot better. It’s quite an unusual injury - a piece of the calf tore away. But it would need to be to keep Hilly off. It had to be something strange.”

As fourth-placed Huddersfield look to kick on in Super League, Watson has reported no other major issues from the agonising 16-14 Cup final defeat.

He said: “Chris McQueen flew through it. I know we’ve not named Olly Russell in the 21-man squad for Catalans but he got through it really well.

“He’s got no issues with his hamstring. He’s trained this morning and I’ve just done that as a precaution with Rusty really as the back end of the season we want to try and get everyone as ready as we can. Joe Greenwood had a bit of a knock so we’ll make a decision on whether he plays - or even travels - in the morning.”

Watson had to disappoint a raft of players who missed out on Cup final selection, including Lawrence - the long-serving prop who