Horne has been out of action for four months because of his neck injury

Hull stand-off Richard Horne could make a shock return to action in the Carnegie Challenge Cup final against St Helens on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Great Britain international has been sidelined for four months by a serious neck injury.

Coach Richard Agar said playing Horne would be a "very calculated risk".

"The neck is fine and 100% but he has lost a lot of weight - he's well underdone in terms of conditioning," conceded Agar.

"We will take some guidance from the player himself on whether he's mentally ready but I think he has been in the game long enough to know he would only go out there if he was confident he could be an effective player.

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"I have a lot of faith in Richard to make the right decision."

Hull, languishing in 11th place in Super League, have battled against a lengthy injury list for much of the season.

They suffered a further blow when full-back Motu Tony was carried off during Friday's 26-6 win over Harlequins at the KC Stadium and the New Zealander could now be a doubt for the final.

Agar is also waiting on the fitness of scrum-half Adam Dykes, who has a thigh problem and has featured little since starring in the semi-final win over Wakefield.

Todd Byrne (knee), Garreth Carvell (groin) and Matt Sing (quad) are also hoping to prove their fitness but the game looks likely to come too soon for Paul King (ankle).