Gary Hetherington refused to rule out Leeds Rhinos making a shock move for Zak Hardaker as the club looks to secure a loan deal before Friday's basement battle with Toulouse Olympique.
The Rhinos have named a 20-man squad for their game with Toulouse, but stated that they were hopeful of securing a deal to bring a player in ahead of the game. That has resulted in Hardaker being linked with an unexpected return to the club after he was dropped by Wigan for 'dipping below' standards set.
Hardaker hasn't featured since and has somewhat inevitably resulted in speculation that he could return to Headingley. Rugby League Live understands there are currently no talks in place to make a deal between the two clubs happen, but Hetherington was coy when asked about potential plans to bring Hardaker back to the club where he won countless trophies and a Man of Steel award.
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Hetherington said: "Salary cap makes it tight for all clubs and who wants to let their best players go to other clubs? Our problem is our best players aren't playing, but they will be doing soon hopefully. We need to get as many back available as soon as possible. We've then two weeks off and when we get to May we'll have many back for selection.
"There's quite a bit going on behind the scenes. It's always difficult in-season but we didn't expect to have ten of our players all missing. We're desperately in need of some victories. We're not panicking but we are looking for players who could come and assist us at this time."
Asked specifically about Hardaker, Hetherington added: "We're in a situation where we're looking for any player who can add value. You don't need me to talk about the virtues of Zak Hardaker, he's an outstanding player. We've been scouring the market to see which players will be available if they're willing to let them leave and if we have space on our own cap. There's quite a lot of decisions to be made there but such is our plight, we are looking to make things happen and we're grateful for any quality player who may become available."
