St Helens boss Paul Wellens insists he does have a plan for when Jack Welsby is fully back and back at his disposal.
Welsby has been missing since picking up a knee injury in the loss to Hull KR at the end of May. The full-back had to go under the knife to resolve the issue and he has spent the last two and a half months going through an arduous rehabilitation process.
However, the full-back has made swift progress in his recovery and having trained with the side, he now stands on the edge of making a return to the St Helens fold. Friday’s trip to Wakefield Trinity came a little too soon for the England international, but he could well be involved when the Merseyside outfit host Huddersfield Giants next week.
Of course, when he does make a return to action, Wellens will have a difficult decision to make when it comes to squad selection, or more accurately, when it comes to finding roles for both Welsby and Tristan Sailor in the same team.
Sailor has looked at home at full-back in Welsby’s absence, producing his best performances for the club having struggled for form elsewhere on the field during the opening half of the season. As such, moving him away from the number one spot may prevent him from making the desired impact.
However, Welsby has been the club’s established full-back for some time and Wellens may well be reluctant to move him elsewhere on the field.
The head coach has something up his sleeve, though, and he’ll be hoping it proves enough to see the Saints climb as high as they can up the league ladder over the remaining six games.
St Helens boss on his full-back plan
“Yeah, I do, but I’d prefer to keep that to myself at this moment in time,” Wellens said when asked if he had a plan for when Welsby returns. “It’s obviously a very tough call when you have two exceptional players, who both prefer to play in the same position.
“We’ve got some big discussions to make moving forward, but it’s a nice headache to have, because not only are they both quality players, but they’re both great competitors who are invaluable to have around the team.”
On Sailor specifically, he added: “He’s been very good. His game’s built week on week. It’s great to see him play with confidence, play with a smile on his face.
“It was a challenging couple of months for him when he first came to the club, but we’re always going to show a strong level of patience there, because it’s not easy to settle in on the other side of the world. He seems to have done that very well now.”
