Guy Armitage will not play for Bradford Bulls again. The 34-year-old back has been ruled out for the rest of the 2026 Super League season with a hamstring tear that requires surgery, ending his time at Odsal on the cruelest of notes.

Armitage sustained the injury during Bradford's defeat by Hull Kingston Rovers. The club confirmed that the tear is severe enough to need an operation, ruling him out of the remaining fixtures. Bradford Bulls

His departure was already settled before the injury. Bradford confirmed in June that they would not offer Armitage a new contract, and he publicly acknowledged the decision on social media on 27 July. Love Rugby League So this hamstring tear does not change his destination — it just robs him of a proper send-off.

For a player who had been finding his stride, the timing is particularly cruel. Armitage had scored in his past two Super League appearances, a run that suggested he might bow out with a flourish rather than a physio's table. Instead, his final act in a Bulls shirt was being helped off the pitch. BBC Sport

Armitage's Bradford career, though brief, packed plenty in. He arrived as a key figure in the side that won promotion last season, crossing for 16 tries in that campaign. In total he scored 19 tries in 37 games for the club — a strike rate that marks him out as a genuine finisher rather than a passenger. BBC Sport

In rugby league, a "back" refers to the seven players wearing shirts numbered 1 through 7 — the full-back, wingers, centres, scrum-half and stand-off — whose job is to turn territory and possession into points. Armitage, at 34, brought the sort of veteran nous that newly promoted sides rely on: knowing when to inject pace, when to play the percentages, and when to back himself in a footrace to the corner.

Bradford now face the remainder of their Super League season without a player who had been contributing tries at a rate of one every two games. For a club battling to establish itself in the top flight after promotion, losing a proven finisher — even one whose contract was not going to be renewed — thins the options at precisely the wrong end of the campaign.

Armitage confirmed his departure with characteristic directness, thanking the club and its supporters without drama. There was no hint of bitterness, only gratitude for a stint that delivered promotion and a chance to test himself in Super League once more.

Whether another club comes calling for a 34-year-old coming off hamstring surgery is a question for the winter. For now, Armitage's focus is on the operating table and rehabilitation, and Bradford's is on finishing a season without him.