St Helens head coach Paul Rowley has confirmed another long-term injury for the club whilst sharing a general injury update on those who are potentially next in line to return.
Saints lost George Whitby last week to a HIA but they were expected to have two players return after failing a HIA the previous game, but Rowley has confirmed that isn’t the case.
It was thought that Daryl Clark and Jake Burns would both return alongside the suspended Joe Shorrocks, however, Clark is still awaiting clearance whilst Burns has suffered a long-term ankle injury.
The St Helens boss confirmed: “(Jake) Burns is gone for two or three months, well, three months to four months in fact.
“He’s having an operation on his ankle, so when he got knocked out he made a bit of a mess with his ankle there, so he’s gone.
“We’re waiting on Daryl (Clark) just to get some clearance there so the only confirmed person back is Joe Shorrocks.”
St Helens trio ‘getting near to the starting line’
It’s another major blow to lose Burns with a large portion of Saints’ salary cap now on the sidelines, something that Rowley made note of.
“I think if you were going on salary cap value, you’d probably start at the top and remove the first six or seven,” he said before hailing those who have played.
“The lads have been digging in and when they do come back, there’ll be some selection headaches because these guys are doing great.”
Beyond Daryl Clark, who could return either this week or next week for the derby, Rowley was asked by Serious About Rugby League which players could be next in line to return with some big names mentioned though no definitive date offered.
Rowley explained: “We’ve probably got about two or three bodies getting near to the starting line. Jonny Lomax, Nene MacDonald, Alex Walmsley.
“They’re all a little bit vague at the minute, so the recovery time will be dependent on the responses to the initial training load that they get probably this week or next.
“I can’t give you a definitive on anybody unfortunately at the minute.”
Luke Robinson sacked, Hull KR struggling and why it could actually be Warrington Wolves’ year? – click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
