The way was cleared with Salford Reds - who signed Reid at the end of last season - cancelling the centre's contract.

"I'm just waiting for a phone call to say he's being released and then we'll sit down with Damien and talk about a contract for the rest of this season," said coach Mark Aston.

Reid has been in jail for the past three months after breaking a friend's jaw during a night out.

Aston has not ruled out putting the 24-year-old straight into the 17 for the tough game at his old club Widnes Vikings on Sunday.

"Damien should been in good shape - he been in prison but he's been working in the gym," said Aston.

"He might not make the Widnes game but then we've got a weekend off and we'll see how he is in training."

The signing of Reid comes swiftly after the former Bradford Bulls Academy forward Alex Szostak moved to Don Valley from French club Villeneuve Leopards. Aston added: "The exciting thing is that with 12 games to go in the season I've signed one new player in Alex Szostak and hopefully soon will have another which will finalise our squad."

Reid will boost the squad's cover at centre - last season he played in 21 games scoring seven tries. That form earned him a full-time contract at Salford but he never played for the Reds before being jailed.

Aston said: "Salford have released Damien and they don't want to support him but Damien has told me there's no way he's going back to prison. People make mistakes and it's quite easy to walk away from them but I never will do that."

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