THERE was double trouble for Giants coach Jon Sharp today as both Mick Slicker and Eorl Crabtree were ruled out for the rest of the season.
The prop-forwards are both on the long-term injured list - Slicker with a broken thumb and Crabtree because of a leg abscess which has needed minor surgery.
Former Keighley pack man Slicker, 26, got his injury against Super League leaders Leeds the Sunday before last, with new X-rays showing the damage was worse than first thought.
Academy product Crabtree last played at St Helens a fortnight ago, suffering a recurrence of the skin condition cellulitis which plagued him after he went on the Great Britain Academy tour to Australia three years ago.
Doctors aren't sure whether the abscess is directly linked, but the treatment has left the 21-year-old on crutches and Sharp with yet another headache as he battles to snap a five-game losing streak and revive his team's fading hopes of making the top-six play-offs.
In an era when almost every coach utilises four props per match, rotating them over the 80 minutes, Sharp has just three experienced men fit - Darren Fleary, Jim Gannon and Jon Grayshon - and was forced to move Aussie Ben Roarty from his normal second-row spot against Castleford on Sunday, when Huddersfield lost 29-12.
Roarty now looks set for another front-row appearance at Widnes on Sunday.
Huddersfield's Senior Academy side were 38-12 winners at Salford last night (full report tomorrow).
