Exclusive - Castleford v Huddersfield: Lee Gaskell lifts lid on '˜scary' heart problem

The talented stand-off had to pull out of their game against Hull FC earlier this month after reporting an irregular heartbeat during the warm-up.

Huddersfield’s concerned medical staff sent him for tests to ascertain the problem, especially given the tragic death of Keighley Cougars half-back Danny Jones two years ago due to an undiagnosed heart problem.

Thankfully, however, no underlying issue has been detected.

Gaskell successfully returned in their next game against Leigh and has not missed a match since.

He featured in a 16-16 draw at champions Wigan Warriors and impressed in last week’s 28-12 defeat against Leeds Rhinos ahead of tonight’s West Yorkshire derby at leaders Castleford Tigers.

In his first interview since the incident, Gaskell told The Yorkshire Post: “Fingers crossed, everything seems to be okay now. It was a minor blip.

“There’s been a few instances (of players’ heart defects) in the last few years, so it was more precautionary than anything.

“Everything is back to normal now and I feel fine.

“But it was scary at the time and, because it was so close to the game, we decided it wasn’t worth the risk.

“It’s the first time this sort of thing has happened to me and that’s why it was all a bit weird. It was out of the blue.

“It was more anxiety than anything, which is strange again as I didn’t feel anything leading up to the game.

“But then, when you feel your heart pumping so fast like it was, you know something’s not right.

“Yet that makes you worse and you panic yourself even more instead of just relaxing and doing nothing.

“I’d had a loss in the family at that time and, with trying to keep other things going, like training and playing, I think it all just mounted up on me and caused a reaction.

“There’s no medication needed or anything; I think I just need more sleep.”

Facing in-form, dynamic Castleford, though, could give many players sleepless nights, as could struggling Huddersfield’s current form of just one win in six games.

They have not tasted victory since beating Wakefield Trinity on February 24, one of just two wins so far, but the short trip along the M62 to Wheldon Road is one the 26-year-old is relishing.

Gaskell, one of five players to join Huddersfield from Championship Bradford Bulls in the winter, insisted: “We’ve been in games and there’s not been much in it. But there’s been too many mistakes. Last week, there were 16 handling errors.

“When you’re dropping 16 balls in a game against Leeds you’re never going to win.

“Five or six is the maximum you can drop if you are going to compete so by doing 10 more than that we never had a chance.

“We need to improve at Cas and have a good run of form in the middle part of the season;

“Easter’s coming up, teams will be missing players and it’s vital we get as many wins as we can to make sure we are in that top eight at the end and able to challenge.”

Castleford, of course, are the talk of Super League following their lightning start in which they have won five of their six games so far and, more often than not, in some style, too.

Gaskell, who played in the 2011 Grand Final with hometown St Helens, said: “I think obviously since Daryl Powell came in that first year they have slowly got better and in the last couple of seasons they’ve always been near.

“They’ve got to a Challenge Cup final and this year you can see they’re looking to get some silverware.

“They’ve put a squad together that can do that.”

There will be greater pressure on Gaskell tonight especially considering the loss of fellow half-back and talisman Danny Brough due to a one-game ban.

Gaskell, who started the season at full-back before replacing the dropped Ryan Brierley in the halves two weeks ago, admitted: “Broughy’s got such a presence; he’s a leader and we all know he’s going to be a big loss.

“But Ryan’s coming back in and he’s more than capable of filling those shoes.

“It’s a good chance for him now to show what he can do and, hopefully, have a big game on Friday.

“It will be good for me, too. I’ve enjoyed moving back to half. It’s where I’ve played all my career so it’s easy for me to go back in there although I’ll play anywhere as long as the side wins.

“With Broughy out, I’ll probably take more responsibility with the kicking game as well on Friday – when you’re going to teams like Cas, you need a good kicking game to pin them back.

“We have to do that and make sure we sort out our ball retention and finishing,” he concluded.