FORMER Cougar favourite Stevie Hall is back in hospital after breaking his leg while playing for Rochdale against Hull KR last weekend.

For Steve, who lives in Oakworth, it is the second major break of his rugby career. He broke his right leg during Keighley's Regal Trophy quarter-final clash with Warrington in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,685.

At the time he was on the crest of a wave at the Cougars, and was tipped to earn a place in Phil Larder's Great Britain squad.

The 'double break' kept him out of the game for 11 months after screws and steel plates were inserted in his leg to hold the broken bones together. But he suffered an allergic reaction to the metal work which slowed his recovery.

This time he has broken both bones in his other leg and doctors at Hull Royal Infirmary have been carrying out detailed allergy tests to make sure the 'hardware' they use to pin the bones will not be rejected.

"He is in remarkably good spirits this time because he knows what he has to go through. He is determined to back playing the game as soon as possible," said his wife, Tanya.

Doctors hope to be able to pin the bones in an operation today (Friday).

Cougar coach Lee Crooks made his first signing for the club this week when 19-year-old Joe Simpson joined the club on a month's loan from Bradford Bulls. The young half-back is the son of Bulls' Alliance coach John Simpson and is a recognised goal kicker.

He will provide cover for Paul Owen while he recovers from a cartilage operation.

Crooks was also in talks with another new player as he searches for a powerful prop to add punch to his forward line. "This game is all about going forward and it is obvious we need to add strength to the forward line - it is something we need badly," he said.

But he refused to let the weakness of the squad be used as an excuse for last week's 46-16 defeat by Whitehaven. "The players let themselves down badly, Whitehaven were a very big side, but if we play with big hearts and get stuck in we can overcome a size difference.

"This week we face another big task against Hunslet, they have some big forwards, but all we need to do is make sure that what we do on the training field we also do on the pitch on Sunday afternoon - if we do that we can beat most teams in the division," he said.

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