Castleford Tigers' key-man Paul McShane set to miss clash with Wigan Warriors

Paul McShane will face the RFL disciplinary

Castleford hooker Paul McShane is set to miss Friday's game with Wigan as he is facing a ban of up to five matches after being accused of intentionally striking an opponent with his forearm or elbow.

McShane has been cited by the Rugby Football League's match review panel for a challenge on Leeds scrum-half Richie Myler in the early stages of the Tigers' 21-20 golden-point defeat at Headingley last Thursday.

He has been handed a grade D charge, which carries a suspension of between three and five matches, and will face a disciplinary tribunal on Tuesday.

McShane's absence against reigning champions Wigan on Friday would create major selection problems for coach Daryl Powell, whose side has experienced back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.

Castleford have another recognised hooker in Adam Milner but McShane began last Thursday's game at scrum-half in the absence of Jordan Rankin, who injured a hamstring in training and is unlikely to be fit this week.

The Tigers already have two specialist half-backs, Luke Gale and Jamie Ellis, on the sidelines and recently released a third in Ben Roberts.

The panel also issued cautions to Greg Bird (Catalans Dragons), Pauli Pauli (Wakefield), Gil Dudson (Salford) and Matty Lees (St Helens) for incidents of foul play in the Betfred Super League round-eight matches.