St Helens remain firmly in contention in the race for the League Leaders’ Shield. The Saints are currently level on points with arch-rivals, Wigan Warriors, at the top of the Super League table, although the Warriors have a game in hand. However, Saints have suffered a series of major injuries to key players, which threatens to derail their title charge.
St Helens host play-off hopefuls, Leeds Rhinos, in a crucial clash at the top of the table. The side from Merseyside come into the game fresh off the back of a 60-4 demolition of Castleford Tigers in their previous Super League match. Despite an early red card for Tommy Makinson, the Saints ran in 52 unanswered points in the second half to blow the Tigers out of the water.
But, speaking in his pre-Leeds press conference, Saints’ head coach, Paul Wellens had bad news for fans of the Red Vee. He confirmed that three key players face prolonged spells on the sidelines, after suffering serious injuries.
Three St Helens players facing lengthy injury lay-offs
Morgan Knowles, Matt Whitley and Jake Wingfield are all key members of the St Helens first-team squad. Whitley has made eight appearances since joining the club from the Catalans Dragons in the off-season. Knowles has played nine times this season and Wingfield has featured on eight occasions.
Wellens confirmed that Wingfield faces the longest spell on the sidelines.
“Jake Winfield, he’s gone into another shoulder repair and that’s looking like a 16-week lay-off,” Wellens stated
“It’s just hugely disappointing for Jake. What I do know about the kid is that he’s a resilient lad and he’s had to be because he’s had some huge setbacks already in such a young career, but I know he’s up to the challenge of tackling this head-on again.”
Whitley faces a shorter spell on the sidelines but he has undergone groin surgery and faces three months on the sidelines. Wellens believes he will be a huge loss for the Saints.
“Matty Whitley is another surgery one. He’s had a shoulder operation which will keep him off for 12 weeks.
“Again, that’s another huge blow considering that Matty’s been a huge success story since joining the club at the start of the year. Obviously, we are going to miss a player of his quality.”
Knowles has played through the pain barrier
Wellens also revealed that loose forward Morgan Knowles has undergone surgery to repair a groin injury, having carried the injury for several weeks. Wellens believes that now is the right time for all parties to repair the damage.
“Morgan Knowles has today undergone some groin surgery to repair what has been an ongoing issue for him. That’s looking like a five to six week lay off”, Wellens said.
He added: “Morgan is someone who’s been carrying this problem for a long period now and never quite got it right. He’s the type of player who’s always prepared to put his hand up for the team, the type of player who’s always prepared to play that little bit, busted, in order to help his teammates. But the time has come for us to be sensible.
“Look, do we need Morgan Knowles this week? Do we need Morgan Knowles next week? Absolutely. But we also need Morgan Knowles fit and fine at the back end of the year. And if we don’t manage it correctly now, then we put that at risk as well.”
Leave a Reply