Leeds boss concerned at sudden exit of star Hardaker

The England team management ended days of speculation over Hardaker on Monday evening when they confirmed he had pulled out of the squad, citing personal reasons.

Hardaker, 22, is expected to shed some light on the circumstances behind his decision after meeting with his club today and McDermott is looking for an explanation.

McDermott said: “It’s clearly concerning what’s happened and, until we find out the nature of what’s happened, I’m not sure what to say.

“Zak was in the England squad and now he’s not in the England squad and that in itself is a disappointment, but other than that I’m a bit wary of saying too much until we’ve talked to him and our own club has made some enquiries.”

The withdrawal of Hardaker comes a fortnight after the axing of Gareth Hock for a series of disciplinary breaches while James Graham was left out of the England side for the opening World Cup match against Australia without explanation.

At his weekly media briefing at Loughbough University yesterday, McNamara maintained his steadfast refusal to comment on rumours of breaches of the team’s alcohol ban and played down the effects of the off-field distractions.

“I’m not frustrated at all,” said McNamara. “I’m really happy with the squad that we’ve got. When you coach or manage, you have all sorts of different situations to deal with.”

McNamara drafted in Huddersfield’s Brett Ferres to plug the gap caused by the loss of Hock before the tournament kicked off but says he did not explore the chances of obtaining a replacement for Hardaker.

“I didn’t want to,” he said. “We’ve got a very good squad, we’re covered in most positions.”

McNamara expects to be able to pick from a full-strength 23-man squad for Saturday’s final Group A match against Fiji at Hull’s KC Stadium, a fixture that will determine the runners-up spot.

Utility forward Sam Burgess will return from a one-match ban while younger brother George Burgess and fellow front-row James are expected to recover from knee injuries sustained in the 42-0 win over Irelast last Saturday.