Friday 11 January 2019 12:03, UK
Castleford will not rush a decision to replace Luke Gale after confirming they have been given salary cap relief to pursue a signing.
England scrum-half Gale will miss the entire 2019 Betfred Super League season after rupturing an Achilles tendon earlier this month.
Castleford needed to seek salary cap relief to be able to replace Gale and that has been successfully granted by the Rugby Football League.
Gale's salary will be removed from Castleford's cap this season and the club will have to seek further permission to play him should his recovery happen quicker than expected.
"There is no real aim at the moment," the club's director of rugby Jon Wells said.
"It gives us the facility to bring someone in as and when a half-back becomes available.
"Our main concern is Luke and we would like him to take the opportunity to spend some quality time with his young family."
Head coach Daryl Powell will first test in-house replacements for Gale on a pre-season camp in Lanzarote.
Jamie Ellis, Ben Roberts and Cory Aston are all options to partner young player of the year Jake Trueman when they kick off the season on February 1 against Catalans Dragons.
Second-row Chris Clarkson will also be part of their pre-season preparation with the 28-year-old having been released at the end of last season by Hull KR.
