Cougars have reluctantly parted company with prop Craig Brown, although the door has been left open for a potential return.

Following an injury-hit 2009, both player and club have decided against a new deal.

Brown missed much of Keighley’s Championship One promotion campaign after suffering a series of unfortunate setbacks, including a broken hand and a fractured thumb.

With pre-season training already underway at Cougar Park, the 28-year-old former Sheffield Eagles player is still not up to speed and would struggle to be in peak conidition for the start of the season.

“We’ve had a chat with Craig Brown and he’s not going to be rejoining,” said head coach Barry Eaton.

“He had a lot of injuries last year and has not been able to get in the full swing of things training-wise.

“He wants to play but is aware of the demands of the Championship.

“He wants to try and work his way back to fitness and we have not closed the door on him.

“To have three broken bones in a year is just a bit freakish. He’s frustrated because he has not had many injuries throughout the rest of his career and he doesn’t feel the Cougars fans got to see the best of him.”

Eaton is still on the trail of an Australian player with Queensland Cup experience, although he is keen not to rush into anything based on last year’s experiences.

Cougars thought they had completed the signing of Daniel Evans last winter, only for the Aussie half back to head back home due to visa problems.

Eaton said: “I’ve got the footage of the Australian player so I’m having a look at that and we’ve had contact again.

“He’s definitely coming over to the country anyway and it’s possible he may sign for us or we may have a look at him in the trial games.

“We are being more cautious than in the past because we want to make sure everything is right.”

Meanwhile, the squad have been back in training for over a week and Eaton believes they are already ahead of schedule.

“It’s been fantastic,” said the Cougars chief. “Without giving the players too much of a pat on the back, they are slightly ahead of where they should be but that’s what we would expect of them.

“Signs are good but it’s early days and we’ve still got a long way to go until the start of the season.

“We’ve got the Northern Rail Cup coming up first and it’s very important that we start peaking before the start of the season.”