ALEX Donaghy could be handed his York Knights debut in Sunday's Betfred Challenge Cup Third Round clash with Dewsbury Rams (2pm).

The versatile back, who made the switch to the LNER Community Stadium from Newcastle Thunder during the off-season has so far been sidelined through an injury that saw him miss both of York's AB Sundecks 1895 Cup group stage fixtures against the Thunder and Wakefield Trinity.

Another welcome addition to Andrew Henderson's preliminary squad is that of Australian hooker Josh Daley, upon his recovery from a PCL knee injury sustained against Bradford Bulls last September.

Centre Jesse Dee and back-rower Charlie Severs drop out of the squad, the latter due to his loan agreement which will prevent him becoming cup-tied with parent club Hull FC.

Henderson's squad is likely to show changes from their 1895 Cup outings, with the Knights boss keen to give opportunities to as many players as possible before the start of the 2024 Betfred Championship season in mid-March.

YORK KNIGHTS PRELIMINARY SQUAD TO FACE DEWSBURY RAMS: Connor Bailey, Joe Brown, Francis Coggle, Josh Daley, Alex Donaghy, Oli Field, Conor Fitzsimmons, Liam Harris, Myles Harrison, Will Jubb, Jimmy Keinhorst, Taylor Pemberton, Harry Price, Harvey Reynolds, Brenden Santi, Ukuma Ta'ai, Jack Teanby, Jordan Thompson, AJ Towse, Brad Ward, Nikau Williams.