AJ Brimson suffered a serious shoulder injury in the opening stages of England’s third Ashes Test with Australia, Shaun Wane has confirmed.
Brimson started the third Ashes Test against Australia on Saturday at Headingley but his afternoon, and series, was brought to a premature end after just 11 minutes when he was forced to leave the field with a shoulder injury.
That left England without a natural full-back for almost 70 minutes of the contest in West Yorkshire and ultimately, it cost Wane’s side dear with Mikey Lewis, who came off the bench to replace Brimson, never looking comfortable in the role.
The Gold Coast Titans man was called up by England for the first time this year, having switched allegiances to represent his mother’s birth nation. And, he ends the autumn with two caps under his belt having played the full 80 against Australia in Liverpool.
Wane has been pleased with the impact he has made in the England camp, but the head coach admits his injury is a bad one.
“He’s really, really damaged his AC. So bad,” Wane said on Brimson. “They are really, really painful.
“He was so gutted to come off, he’s a brave kid and he’s loved his time here. He’s been a great addition to our squad and I’ve been really impressed.
On the impact losing Brimson made on the third Test, Wane added: “That hurt us a lot. There’s no doubt about that, that hurt the way we do everything.
“I thought we adapted well. That’s the beauty of having Mikey on the bench and I just didn’t expect us to use him the way we used him. We still did some good things but not often enough.”
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