Batley Bulldogs vs Keighley Cougars: Luke Hooley recalled by Leeds Rhinos and Alistair Leak out for three months as Craig Lingard reveals double blow ahead of Challenge Cup tie

Hooley had returned to Batley from Super League side Leeds Rhinos, who he signed for after the 2022 season, on a two-week loan deal and starred with the boot as the Bulldogs won at Odsal - beating Bradford Bulls 21-16 - for only the third time in 51 years last Sunday.

However, Lingard has confirmed that the Rhinos don’t want the full back cup-tied for future games. He said:

“Leeds don’t want him cup-tied so he will be back at Leeds this week and we are going to reassess it after the international break weekend.

“You are obviously going to be disappointed not to have a player of Luke’s quality but he is Leeds’ player and you can understand why they don’t want to have him cup-tied.

“He is a great kid and a really good human being. He developed so well over the last couple of years with us and got his reward by securing that Super League contract.”

“But there are no complaints from us as he is ultimately their player so they have got to do what they believe is right for them.”

Leak had a scan on an ankle injury he sustained in Good Friday’s defeat to Featherstone Rovers on Monday, with the results showing ligament damage.

“It is not great news,” a concerned Lingard said. “He is looking at around three months out. He has got a full rupture on one side and a partial rupture on the other side, so he is going to be out for some considerable time.

“They have said the timeframe is going to be ten to 12 weeks whether you have an operation or not. We will see how he rehabs without the need for an operation to start with and see how he goes from there.

“Some people heal quicker than others. We will keep our fingers crossed on that but he is going to be a big miss for us.”

On the prospect of facing the Cougars again at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, who Batley beat 28-23 in a thrilling game in February, Lingard said:

“It was a great game for the spectators but it wasn’t a great game for the coaches! It should be another cracker, two teams who are pretty evenly matched as we saw from the previous game.

“I think it is two teams who want to do their best to get to Wembley and play in that 1895 Cup final. It should be a really closely contested game.

“We’ll look at their previous two or three games rather than the last game we played against them because teams evolve throughout the season. You might find that a team playing in worse weather, plays completely differently than in a game when it's sunny and a nice flat dry track.”