THE Bulls have been doing extra Covid testing as a precaution as the country begins to open up again from the pandemic.

Rugby league has been hit particularly hard with games being called off because of positive cases among players.

Seven fixtures scheduled for the coming weekend have already been cancelled in Super League and League One.

For that reason, the Bulls have been checking the squad before each training session to catch any problems early.

The club introduced the added tests at a time when people were out watching Euro 2020 – and the squad had a weekend off because of the Challenge Cup final.

Assistant coach Mark Dunning said: “The protocols are in place and we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do.

“We’re currently testing three times a week.

“We’d rather be proactive than reactive and if there is anything out there to catch, look to catch it early and minimise the disruption in the squad.

“The view we’ve taken is that the guys have had the weekend off for the Challenge Cup.

“They have more than deserved and earned that. It was a chance to spend some time with their family and some went down to Wembley and took in the cup final.

“On the back of that and people going out to watch the football and things, we have tested every time we train for two weeks. This will be the last time and then we’ll revert back to the twice a week that we need to do with RFL protocol.

“It is a massive headache but I think it’s a society problem rather than a rugby league one. Everybody is having to deal with it.”

The Bulls have missed Thomas Doyle, Dan Fleming and Ebon Scurr at times after being forced to self-isolate for coming into contact with a positive case.

John Kear's side have also had to work through a mounting injury list – a common theme throughout the game this year.

But they hope to have centre or wing Jack Sanderson back in contention soon after his troublesome ankle injury.

Dunning said: “Jack did some outside running with us on Tuesday night. It’s great to see and another couple of weeks should see him available for selection.

“It’s been difficult for him because he’s had quite a bad ankle injury.

“It’s a really obscure one. He picked up a little niggle in training, which we thought was minor, but he had a reaction to it on the way back to Hull where he lives.

“The swelling came up and it’s been a lot worse than anybody first feared.

“He’s been doing it tough. He’s been inside doing the rehab while the guys have been out on the field but he’s worked really hard.”