Oldham upbeat on Roberts’ injury

THE early signs are “positive” on Roughyeds captain Rob Roberts’ back injury following an epidural injection.

Roberts (29) underwent the procedure because of a degenerative condition which has resulted in a bulging of discs in his spine. This caused him severe discomfort at the end of last season.

The idea of the injection is to decrease the inflammation in order to allow the influential back row man to carry on training and playing as normal.

“It is just a case of keeping an eye on it now,” said Oldham chief executive Chris Hamilton, who said that Roberts could resume training with the rest of the squad tonight.

Off the field, attempts are still being made to nail down pre-season friendly fixtures, including a home game against Super League champions Leeds Rhinos.

A draft version of the regular-season fixture list is currently with the respective clubs and it is expected that the full schedule will be made public early on next week.

Ian Hodson, the back row man who has turned out for Oldham in each of the past four seasons, has signed for Co-operative Championship One rivals Blackpool.

The 27-year-old was a try-scorer in the Roughyeds’ 18-10 defeat to Doncaster in the National League Two play-off final earlier this year.