Cougars captain James Rushforth faces months on the sidelines after damaging a knee ligament in his comeback match against Rochdale last week.

Rushforth has played only a handful of matches this season after struggling to recover from a double hernia operation.

Coach Gary Moorby's disappointment at news his skipper has a ruptured posterior cruciate ligament has been tempered only by the fact that the injury may not require surgery.

"It's a blow for us. He's a good kid, a good pro and a good player," said Moorby.

"He did it in the first five minutes of the Rochdale game. He will be out for a couple of months at least, so we are really disappointed about that and so is James."

Rushforth's injury is less serious than the anterior cruciate ligament ruptures suffered by Bradford backs Tevita Vaikona and Toa Kohe-Love, which nearly always require surgery, but he will be confined to the gym for much of the remainder of the season.

"We are going to put him through a pre-season weights programme because he has lost a bit of weight while he has been away from the game with his groin problem," said Moorby.

"He is going to hit the gym pretty hard to try to put some size and weight on for when he comes back."

Forward Lee Patterson should make a welcome return to the line-up for tomorrow's vital home match against Oldham but Jamie Fielden is not yet fit to make his debut, which should come next week against his former club Doncaster.

Moorby was furious at his side's capitulation against winless Rochdale last week - when they conceded 22 points in the opening 13 minutes - and he admits the performance has raised the stakes against fellow strugglers Oldham.

"If Rochdale was a four-pointer then this is an eight-pointer," he said. "It is essential that we perform and get the two points. It has got to be all positives from here. We've all got a point to prove tomorrow.

"We've had a good discussion about it and stated the case that an opening 20 minutes like that is not acceptable. It is not what we are about and it is not what we have worked for. Above all we let ourselves down, particularly after some good performances. To start a game like that and ultimately score 32 points at home and lose is very disappointing. But it has gone. We need to learn from it and at least we have an opportunity tomorrow to put the record straight.

"If you get a bit of a flogging you work harder and you come back strong again and I'm hoping that's what we'll do. I feel we've got the players to do it and that the character is there. It is just a mentality thing. We've got to learn to be mentally tough, disciplined and play as we've been told to play. But at the end of the day the coaches don't play. At three o'clock tomorrow it will be up to the players again."

Oldham are bolstered by the return of prop Paul Southern, centre Iain Marsh and winger Will Cowell, but player-coach Steve Molloy is doubtful with a neck injury. James Bunyan should return from injury, while scrum half Ian Watson is back from a two-match ban.