Hull Set to Risk Horne in Cup Final Despite Injury Lay-off

Hull will include Richard Horne in their squad for Saturday's Carnegie Challenge Cup final against St Helens at Wembley, even though the half-back has not played since early April when he suffered a neck injury that could have ended his career.

The 26-year-old had given up hope of playing again this season until a second visit to a specialist in late July cleared him to resume training. He took part in Hull's last full session at the KC Stadium yesterday, a privilege they were granted by the stadium authorities as they aim to replicate the Wembley success enjoyed by Hull City in football's Championship play-off final three months ago.

Hull's coach, Richard Agar, concedes it would be "a calculated risk" to throw Horne back in at the deep end but it may still be his best bet if the club's injury-prone Australian scrum-half Adam Dykes fails to recover from the shoulder and knee problems that have kept him out for the last fortnight.

Matt Sing and Garreth Carvell, who missed last Friday's 26-6 win against Harlequins, are expected to return but the New Zealand full-back Motu Tony is almost certainly out with a knee injury. That is likely to mean Sing switching from the wing to full-back and a starting place for the 18-year-old Tom Briscoe.

The Rugby Football League has confirmed that any Super League club hoping to sign the errant Australian half-back Todd Carney will first have to seek clearance from the governing body - and that none has yet done so. Carney was sacked by the Canberra Raiders and banned from signing for another National Rugby League club for a year after a series of alcohol-related incidents. The RFL would only allow him to play in the Super League if given the go-ahead by the NRL.