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Official English Super League Round 21 preview - Saturday game. Hull V Huddersfield.

Hull suffer double blow

Hull have been dealt a double injury blow just days before captain Richard Swain prepares to make his return from a broken arm.

The Kiwi hooker has been missing for 15 weeks with the injury which he suffered at London in March and is set to start Saturday?s clash at home to Huddersfield.

However the news of his return has been tempered by the loss of key duo Nathan Blacklock and Shaun Briscoe.

Australian winger Blacklock is Hull?s top try-scorer this season with a haul of 16 and suffered a knee injury against St Helens last week which will rule him out for up to six weeks.

As a result, the 29-year-old will miss the forthcoming Powergen Challenge Cup semi-final with St Helens.

Full-back Briscoe also injured his knee in the same game but is only expected to be out for a fortnight, with the cup tie his targeted return.

?Nathan has suffered medial ligament damage to his knee,? said head coach John Kear.

?It will be four weeks at the minimum but we are looking at closer to six before he returns.

?It is a big blow to lose him as he has been playing very well, but we have Richie Barnett back from injury and he has been in good form and we are also expecting Gareth Raynor to return from his ankle injury before the game at Widnes next weekend.?

Despite losing Blacklock and Briscoe, Kear remains delighted to welcome his captain back into the side, but he was quick to praise the role of those that have deputised.

?I?m over the moon to get Richard back,? said Kear.

?If when he was injured down at London, someone would have offered me us being fourth in the league and in the semi-finals of the cup by the time he returned, I would have snapped their hands off.

?I must praise the role of those who stood in for him though, particularly Danny Brough, Motu Tony and Paul King. Especially Danny Brough who has gone from being a National League Two player with promise to being a very good Super League player with even more to come.?

Hull v Huddersfield, KC Stadium, Saturday July 16

Hull 20-man: Yeaman, R. Horne, Dowes, Swain, King, McMenemy, Kearney, Cooke, Tony, Thackray, Saxton, Chester, Higgins, Carvell, Brough, Dixon, McNicholas, G. Horne, Barnett, Whiting.

Huddersfield 20-man: O?Hare, Evans, Donlan, Thorman, March, Drew, Gannon, Nero, S. Jones, Smith, Crabtree, Grayshon, White, Jackson, Clayton, Hemingway, S. Jones, McDonald, St Hilaire.