BULLS head coach Eamon O’Carroll must have feared the worst when veteran stand-off Lee Gaskell tore his hamstring at Wakefield on the opening night of the Betfred Championship season.

Yet, since losing their talisman, Bradford have won five league games out of seven, with nobody seeming fazed by the arduous task of doing an emergency shift in the halves alongside Jordan Lilley.

John Davies and Mitch Souter have found themselves in there at times this season, as did Tyran Ott on Sunday against Sheffield.

Gaskell is close to a return, but O’Carroll knows he must proceed with caution.

He said: “Lee Gaskell’s good, and it was a significant injury he suffered against Wakefield.

“He was due to be in the side to face Sheffield last Sunday, but we knew once we increased his workload towards the end of the week, there was a chance he’d get fatigued and he did.

“I don’t know if he’ll play at Batley this weekend but we need to be smart, because we don’t want to rush him back and then see him get injured again after two games.”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Lee Gaskell has been a key player for Bulls in both of his spells at the club, but Eamon O'Carroll does not want rush him back unnecessarily. Lee Gaskell has been a key player for Bulls in both of his spells at the club, but Eamon O'Carroll does not want rush him back unnecessarily. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Ott stood in for Gaskell admirably on Sunday, with O’Carroll saying; “Whoever’s been out of position in there this season has been doing a good job, and Tyran was a big factor in us winning against Sheffield.

“Because we’d practicing with Lee and Jordan all week, Tyran had 30 minutes of preparation time before going out and playing the halves on Sunday.

“But he stuck to the gameplan, as did JD, Eribe (Doro) and Kev (Appo), all playing out of position.

“They all did their jobs, not just in the 80 minutes of the game, but in the week’s preparation beforehand.”

O’Carroll had some good news on the injury front too, with scans revealing that powerful second row Zac Fulton had not torn his calf after all against Sheffield, but was instead suffering from a dead leg.

He is in contention to face Batley, while centres Jayden Myers (groin) and Joe Arundel (family reasons) may return to the squad for the trip to Mount Pleasant too.