Gareth Ellis ready, willing and able to stand in for Hull FC

The former Great Britain forward played the last game of his decorated career when leading the Black and Whites at Leeds Rhinos in the Super League semi-final last September.

However, more than eight months later and now aged 37, Hull’s football manager is contemplating taking to the field once more to relieve the burden on FC’s injury-hit squad.

They have lost prop Josh Bowden for the rest of the season after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament at Featherstone Rovers last week, while loose forward Jordan Abdull is out for some time with a broken leg.

England front-row Scott Taylor remains doubtful for Sunday’s Magic Weekend derby against Hull KR and head coach Lee Radford will also leave it until Saturday for another prop – Mickey Paea – and centre Jack Logan to prove their fitness.

But Hull are also mainly stricken in the backline with halves Marc Sneyd, Albert Kelly and Carlos Tuimavave all sidelined for lengthy periods and winger Bureta Faraimo due to start a two-game ban.

Indeed, Radford revealed he only had 12 players training on Monday.

Ellis, who famously captained FC to successive Challenge Cup final wins before calling time on his career, has been in training with them this week but is not expected to be immediately in contention for Sunday’s game in Newcastle.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “With the injuries mounting up and with how tight things are with salary cap, it sort of dawned on me that maybe I should start training again if there is a chance of me playing.

“I thought I should start doing a little bit so I am more prepared if the opportunity does then come.

“To be fair, it is probably backs where we’re struggling most and it was 20 years ago since I started as a centre. I have definitely got slower since then!

“But it’s one of those things that if the chance does come I’ll be in a better position by training out there with the boys.”

Ellis added: “I still can’t make up my mind whether it’s a good idea or not.

“In theory it seems like a really good one but I don’t know when it actually happens – if I am to play – how I will be feeling the next day.

“I have quite enjoyed being out training with the lads again. It doesn’t feel much different to how it did last year so from that point of view it’s been really good.

“It might not come around – it might – but at least if I’ve trained I’ll be in a better position than if it was dropped on me just a few days before a match.”

Ellis would not be the first player to complete such a U-turn.

His former Leeds Rhinos and Great Britain team-mate Jamie Peacock did just that in 2016 when Hull KR’s head of rugby appeared for the Robins 11 months after his last game.

Similarly, Radford himself came out of retirement when Hull assistant coach to face Rovers in the 2012 Good Friday derby although he was still just 33 at the time.

Radford admitted at his weekly press conference that former players and assistant coaches Kirk Yeaman, 34, and Richard Horne, 36, had also been training.

“He (Yeaman) has been training the last couple of weeks due to numbers,” he said, about the ex-Great Britain centre who retired at the end of 2016.

“Richard Horne has looked really sharp as well and Gareth Ellis looks great. There is only me and Feka (Paleaaesina) in the whole staff who is not involved in training at the moment!

“We have had to due to lack of numbers on the field. It’s surreal.

“We had the Under-19s in today and managed to get some good numbers out there which helped the session.

“But in the sessions earlier in the week we had five outside backs in the gym and one of them was Kirk who was actually running it.

“Ask me again on Saturday if any will play this weekend.”

Meanwhile, Radford said reports that Hull had signed half-back Liam Harris from dual-registration partners Doncaster were premature.

Clearly FC need strengthening in that position and 21-year-old Harris – who left Hull KR in the off-season – has trained with the Airlie Birds this term.

But Radford said: “I think the gun has been jumped a little on those ones. Nothing has been agreed between any clubs but if something comes up that would make us better it would be considered definitely.

“He (Liam Harris) has obviously trained with us during the pre-season and throughout the campaign. Bringing another half-back in you need three or four weeks for him to familiarize himself into how you play and he’s obviously comfortable with that.

“But as I said nothing has been done and until it is, it’s probably pretty irrelevant.”