St Helens produced a clinical display to beat Leeds Rhinos 40-10, but their win came at a cost, with key duo Jonny Lomax and Joe Batchelor suffering injuries.
Back-rower Batchelor was helped from the field by the Saints medical staff just six minutes into the game and didn’t return, whilst Lomax went down the tunnel in the 35th minute clutching his hand.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Saints coach Paul Wellens confirmed the pair would go for scans in the coming days to determine the extent of the injuries.
“Joe Batchelor seems like he’s got an ankle ligament injury which is obviously really unfortunate,” Wellens said.
The results of the scans will determine how long he is gone, but given that Joe is a tough guy and couldn’t play, it’s likely that he won’t be back for a few weeks.
“We will need to evaluate Jonny’s hand fracture and monitor his condition, as per the medical staff’s assessment.
“What I admire most about this group—don’t get me wrong, we’re not perfect and have fallen short of our goals several times this year—is that they overcome adversity, whether it’s losing players to injury or suspension, better than any other team I’ve worked with.
“After Tommy Makinson was sent off in the last game (against Castleford Tigers), they
Paul Wellens: ‘I was delighted with our performance’
Saints’ win over the Rhinos saw them return to the top of the Super League table, with Wellens’ side having won nine from 12 in the league so far this season.
“I was delighted with our performance,” Wellens added. “I think we got caught on the back foot in the first five minutes or so and Leeds run us around a little bit, but once we warmed to the occasion I thought we were very good.
“We’ve trained really well in the last couple of weeks, I think not having a game last week helped us, obviously it’s evident we’re down on numbers at the moment but what we’re certainly not lacking is an energy, that was evident at Castleford two weeks ago and evident here tonight.”
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