Huddersfield hooker Carlile requires heart operation

(GETTY IMAGES)

The Huddersfield hooker Keal Carlile will need a heart operation before he can resume his career. The 21-year-old has not played since the second round of Super League in February, because of chronic fatigue. Now a Harley Street specialist has told him that he has a valve defect which requires surgery.

"It's been very worrying since extreme fatigue hit me during the Castleford game, forcing me to come off," Carlile said yesterday. "I feared the worst when the specialist was explaining the problem, but when I listened more it was clear to me that it was fairly easy to sort out."

Jon Molloy, the Huddersfield forward currently at Halifax under a dual-registration arrangement, has been told that he cannot play for two weeks after a scan on a shoulder injury.

The Wigan coach, Michael Maguire, has urged Paul Deacon to reconsider any plans to retire at the end of this season. The 32-year-old half-back is on a player-coach contract, the playing element of which runs out at the end of the campaign.

Maguire believes he still has plenty to offer on the pitch. "He's getting older, but the way he performs I can't see why he wouldn't want to go round again," he said.

Deacon is in Wigan's squad for their Challenge Cup tie on Sunday against his old club Bradford, who could have Olivier Elima available after a knee ligament injury.