St Helens coach Paul Wellens has provided a full injury update on his sidelined squad members ahead of Thursday’s clash with Salford Red Devils.
Speaking in his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Wellens confirmed that key prop Alex Walmsley would make his return against Salford after almost four months on the sidelines with hamstring and knee injuries.
And the Saints boss provided a wider update on his squad, starting with club stalwart Mark Percival, who missed their win at Hull FC last time out through suspension, but has also been nursing a minor knock. Wellens says he is hopeful that Percival will be fit enough to feature this week.
“It has settled down a little bit,” Wellens said. “Even if he hadn’t been suspended, I don’t think he’d have been in a position to play last week. It’s allowed Percy the opportunity to get himself right.
“He’s done some running on the field today (Tuesday) and looked comfortable so we’re hoping that will stay the same and that he’ll be in contention to play on Thursday night too.”
Due to a knee injury, highly-regarded young prop George Delaney will once more miss Wellens’ 17 when they take on Salford.
“He kind of re-injured his knee at Leigh a few weeks ago, and it’s still bothering him a little bit,” Wellens continued.
“With young players like George, who we have asked a lot of recently, we have to be reasonable. Since he is still only 20 years old and is still in the early stages of his professional sporting career, we will give him every chance to fully recover from this injury.
Due to a knee injury, highly-regarded young prop George Delaney will once more miss Wellens’ 17 when they take on Salford.
“He kind of re-injured his knee at Leigh a few weeks ago, and it’s still bothering him a little bit,” Wellens continued.
“With young players like George, who we have asked a lot of recently, we have to be reasonable. Since he is still only 20 years old and is still in the early stages of his professional sporting career, we will give him every chance to fully recover from this injury.
“Sione Mata’utia is another one that will come close in a few weeks but what we can’t do with either of those yet is give a definitive timeframe but, within a few weeks, both should be pushing for selection.”
Additionally, Wellens reported that center Konrad Hurrell had a successful operation over the weekend to address a neck ailment.
The Tonga international, whose contract expires at the end of the current campaign, is unlikely to play again in 2024. According to Wellens, the club’s top priority for now is to assist Hurrell in his recovery, with discussions about his future coming later.
“He only had surgery on Saturday morning which I’m pleased to report went really well so Konrad can start his recovery process now,” Wellens continued.
“A great sign of Konrad is that he came around from his operation and the first thing he did was getting in touch to congratulate the team on finally getting the win after a few weeks (of losing).
“Konrad is all for the team and always has been so we’ll support him in the best way we can. Any decisions around his future will be kept at bay for now.”
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