Warrington Wolves v Hull FC: Simon Grix takes pressure off Jake Trueman ahead of expected return

The luckless half-back has featured only 15 times for the Black and Whites since his move from Castleford Tigers at the end of 2022 after following up his serious knee injury with a ruptured Achilles tendon just four months on from his comeback.

Trueman is poised to make his first appearance of the season following his inclusion in Hull's 21-man squad for the trip to the Halliwell Jones Stadium – but Grix has stressed that people should not expect too much of the returning playmaker as he eases his way back in.

"Last year he helped the team greatly and I'd expect it again this year," said Grix. "However, we're not all expecting it at the start.

"He's going to take a few weeks to get himself to the level that he'll be happy with and that we'll be happy with, but it's a step in the right direction.

"Obviously I don't want to heap the pressure on him. He's not the Messiah. He's not going to come in, save everyone and we're going to smash Warrington 40-0.

"But he is definitely going to add to our group. He's a quality player and I can't wait to see him back out there."

Hull have won just one of their 10 games in both competitions, a nervy victory over Super League new boys London Broncos in early March.

After showing signs of improvement in last week's narrow defeat to Leeds Rhinos, Grix is hoping to find that elusive winning formula.

"I thought we looked like a rugby team again," he said. "The effort was good and we're starting to see a couple of little changes bearing some fruit in terms of how we want to play.

"The game was the first time in a while that it looked like training. It looked like how we prepared to play. We're still not happy. We don't come in here and say, 'We're proud of our effort.'

"As much as that's great and we do want to see that effort, we all want the two points. Hopefully it's not too far away for us."