Back row forward Karl Gunney, who suffered a hamstring injury in last Sunday’s win over Oldham, is battling to be fit in time for Sunday’s Co-operative Championship One encounter at Swinton Lions.

Gunney was due to undergo a fitness test at CougarPark on Thursday evening and if he got through that trial he would be checked out again on Friday evening.

Cougars Head Coach Barry Eaton said: “Karl responded well after the injury. Originally we thought he’d torn the hamstring but now it looks more like he’s just given it a pull.

“There was a tremendous amount of improvement in the injury between Sunday and Tuesday and if his recovery continues at the same rate, Karl will be in with a chance of playing at Swinton.

“At the moment I’d say he’s rated as being 50-50 to play. We’ll have a better idea about his fitness on Friday after training”.

Australian forward Brendon Rawlins may be back in Britain this week but whether he plays or not will be governed by whether the RFL have seen his work permit documents or not.

Prop Andy Shickell has had a knee operation which has revealed some slight cartilage damage.

Eaton said: “The surgeon repaired the injury and cleaned up the knee. Andy is due to see the specialist again on Friday and we understand that if all has gone well he could start some rehabilitation work next week”.

The Head Coach added: “If Karl Gunney is fit I’d expect to name the same team that played against Oldham because we’ve had two impressive performances in a row with our Cup victory over Pia”.