Monday 8 February 2016 22:27, UK
Castleford captain Michael Shenton will miss the rest of the season with a serious knee ligament injury suffered in their first game of the Super League campaign.
Shenton injured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 16-16 draw with Hull KR at the KC Lightstream Stadium on Sunday and scans on Monday revealed the severity of the problem.
"Some of you will have already heard that my season has ended before it began with a knee injury sustained yesterday which is extremely frustrating for me," Shenton said.
"I've had a great pre-season and felt fresh coming into the season so to have it cut short from a reckless challenge is difficult for me to swallow but I'll be doing all I can off the field to support the boys through this season."
Rovers hooker John Boudebza faces a ban of no more than two matches for the tackle that caused the injury, and Tigers coach Daryl Powell said the Grade B classification of the Frenchman's offence was disappointing.
"It's really disappointing the type of tackles that can do that to people are still in the game," Powell added.
"There's a job needs to be done in terms of dealing with that, but that is no consolation to Shenny or to us.
"It's a massive blow for us and we now need to see a response from a few other players within our team. Our leadership is going to need to develop across a few players. These things happen, but it is pretty tough to take."
