THERE is mixed bag of news on injury front ahead of Friday’s clash with Wigan – but no guarantees at this stage that any of the absentees will return.
Saints were without hooker Daryl Clark, packman Sione Mata’utia and Konrad Hurrell for Friday’s defeat – with the trio joining the likes of long term casualties Alex Walmsley, Jake Wingfield, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles, Matt Whitley and Tommy Makinson on the sidelines.
There had been hopes that loose forward Knowles would be ready to re-appear – but there has been a frustrating wait.
Wellens said: “Daryl Clark could be in with a chance of coming back in this week, but Morgan Knowles is probably going to miss out again.”
There was also a degree of uncertainty – for now – about Mata’utia and Hurrell.
Wellens added: “Sione has got a bit of a neck issue which we’re hoping clears up, but it’s becoming something that’s proving a bit more difficult than we first envisaged.
“Konrad – a bit like Sione – has got to see a specialist today on whether will you be able to play on the weekend as well.
“So there’s a number of things still up in the air at the moment in time, but all that will be cleared up by the time we train tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon.”
The initial timeframe for England loose forward Knowles was a return the week after the International break.
Although frustrating for player and staff alike, there does not seem like there will be an imminent return.
Wellens said: “It’s a frustrating one with Morgan.
“He’s just not quite getting there at this moment in time which is frustrating, more so for him than anybody but for us all.”
Knowles is not the first player to have prolonged groin trouble head spelled out the niggling nature of this
“I believe that people need to realize that Morgan has been handling this problem for about two years now.
Therefore, for a player, that can be extremely aggravating and emotionally taxing.
We all realize that we need to be reasonable and that we don’t want to give Morgan Knowles the same opportunity to repeat the same mistakes twice when he returns. Instead, we want the greatest Morgan Knowles.
“It’s not the greatest for Morgan Knowles to play if we’re selecting a team to win one game here, but that’s not the case right now.
That’s not the best course of action for his long-term health, nor is it the healthiest for the
Thus, there are instances when we must make tough choices that aren’t always in line with our desires. And for the past few weeks, that has been Morgan’s situation as well.
Leave a Reply