Castleford's Hood out with 'significant' neck injury

Castleford Tigers hooker Liam Hood is set to miss a minimum of 12 weeks after suffering a "significant" neck injury.

The 34-year-old sustained the injury in the win at Wigan earlier this month.

Director of rugby Chris Chester confirmed he was still in hospital on Wednesday awaiting further tests.

Head coach Ryan Carr said the severity of the injury did not come to light until the following day, with Hood having played the whole match.

"I was real scared for him and it's a huge blow for our club and team. He's such an influential player for us and a leader on and off the field," he told BBC Radio Leeds.

"Every time he's played this year we've played really well so there's no secret, he's a common denominator in our performances.

"He's improving a lot and getting there but we've got to make sure we get him right in that area first and we don't worry about rugby league

"The feedback was that the amount of ligament damage he had they were amazed he hadn't broken his neck.

"It was a really weird scenario, he finished the game, got off the bus, went home, picked up his daughter, had dinner with his parents, went home and then woke up with it.

"Something happened and it flared up real bad the next morning, it caught us all off guard."

Hood joined the Tigers from Wakefield in October 2025 on a one-year deal, with an option for a second year.