KRIS Welham's injury on the eve of the 219th derby is a massive blow to Rovers.
Although it has not yet been confirmed, a recurrence of the shoulder injury sustained in the cup win over St Helens may even bring a premature end to his season.
That will weaken KR's left hand side considerably, especially with Cory Paterson out suspended and injured.
In Luke George, Rovers have a ready-made replacement to fill in for Welham if he misses out.
But each derby seems to throw up an injury story and Welham seems to have provided this derby's story-line.
He'll be missed too, as nobody has scored more tries for Rovers in Super League derbies than his eight.
With the fifth best attack in the league, despite sitting in ninth place, it is Rovers' defence which must improve at the Etihad today.
Ranked fifth after 15 rounds, all the smart money is on Hull to win this derby. After all, they are one of Super League's in-form sides with just one defeat in their last eight games.
They also have Gareth Ellis back in their side, a man seen as the final piece in the FC jigsaw to make them a top-four outfit.
Sitting sixth, fans will expect nothing more than a derby win to reclaim the bragging rights stolen from them from the KC Stadium on Good Friday.
Rovers start as ten-point underdogs and they will relish that.
Write them off at your peril.
When their backs were against the wall before Easter, they won four from five games to take the pressure off under-fire coach Craig Sandercock.
With the heat beginning to get turned up on Sandercock following three straight defeats, the team smashed Wakefield 44-18 last week.
In must-win matches, Rovers have shown their ability to raise their game, including on Good Friday.
Rovers' fans were disappointed at the passion shown in the majority of the three derbies last season. But they were proud of what their heroes produced to make the Super League score 12-8 to KR after 20 meetings.
Rovers will be looking to replicate that Good Friday performance today. To win, their kicking game must be better than Hull's own.
Michael Dobson, whose 40/20 against Wakefield last week was, surprisingly, the first of the season for Rovers, will have to kick long and the chase has to be good.
The one big decision for Sandercock to make is whether to play Greg Eden or continue to keep him out of the side to work on areas of his game that have let him down. If Eden is given a watching brief, expect the now dependable Craig Hall to continue at full-back.
