Castleford Tigers will be without some notable names when they make to trip to Craven Park for Friday's clash with Hull KR.

The Tigers are set to be without two of their key stars for the opening weeks of the new campaign, including influential half-back Rowan Milnes. The 25-year-old received shirt number seven at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle, a part of a new-look spine under legendary half-back McGuire heading into 2025, alongside overseas recruit Daejarn Asi, and Liam Horne in the starting hooker jersey.

Former Bradford Bulls and Hull KR playmaker Milnes has been recovering from a knee injury during the off-season, with McGuire issuing an update following their Challenge Cup upset against the Bulls at Odsal. Castleford crashed out of the prestigious competition with an 18-16 defeat to Brian Noble’s Championship outfit, with Tex Hoy featuring in the halves and young Fletcher Rooney at full-back

READ MORE: Castleford Tigers add new loan signing to squad ahead of Hull KR opener

READ MORE: Hull KR forward heads out on loan with new chance to prove first-team credentials

"He's [Rown Milnes] a few weeks off, he's not started running properly yet,” McGuire said. “He'll be out for a good few weeks.”

Castleford also head into the new season without Louis Senior, Sam Hall, Louis Senior and Jason Qareqare - with another name now added to their casualty list.

“Alex Mellor is similar, he’s a few weeks with his hamstring,” McGuire confirmed.

“We've lost a few outside-backs there, so we're doing it a bit tough but it is what it is. That's our game, you go through stages where players go down and you've got to be able to handle it, and we're not able to do that the best yet. But we can still be better, still work harder and do things better than we are doing.”