Bradford Bulls head coach Kurt Haggerty has admitted that he will struggle to name a 21-man squad on Thursday after confirming several injuries, including one major blow.
Star centre Waqa Blake picked up a nasty knee injury in the Rivals Round defeat to Leeds Rhinos and Haggerty has now confirmed that it is an MCL injury, which is set to rule the Fijian out for around three months.
“Waqa is a knee so he’s probably going to be another 12 weeks,” Haggerty told BBC Radio West Yorkshire at his presser on Tuesday.
On how devastating that loss is, Haggerty added: “It’s pretty big. He was probably one of the form centres before his injury. He started the season really really well so yeah we’re disappointed that we lost Waqa.”
Unfortunately fro Bradford, Blake is not the only man set to be sidelined for three months with recent signing Phoenix Steinwede having already undergone surgery for the ankle injury that he picked up in that same game.
Haggerty revealed: “Phoenix (Steinwede) is syndesmosis so he’s another one that you’re probably talking 12 weeks, so he’s another one.
“He’s just had surgery so it’s pretty serious.”
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Bradford Bulls’ injury woes explained
There was a boost in that a long-term injured player could be set to return with Dan Russell, who went down in round one against Hull FC, has trained.
Haggerty revealed: “Dan has trained today and done the full session today so it’s a decision for me to make. There’s a possibility that Dan will be back this week.”
He and Ebon Scurr could return but prop talisman Ryan Sutton is another on the doubtful list.
The Bulls boss said: “He’s still in a bit of pain is Ryan so we’ll manage him through the week and take him right up to game day to see where he’s at, but he’s struggling with his quad.
“We’re a little bit shot to pieces but ultimately we’ve got fit bodies still and we’re going to have a couple of bodies back in potentially Ebon (Scurr) and Dan Russell, so we’ll potentially get a few back even though we’ve lost a couple.”
As for his chances of naming a 21-man squad, which will come on Thursday, for this Saturday’s game against Wakefield, Haggerty admitted it was ‘highly unlikely’, adding: “I’d struggle to name 21 right now.
“I’d say this has been my most difficult week in trying to pick a team. I’ve got about three of four different permutations on my desk on what it could or couldn’t look like. Ultimately, we’ve got bodies there, whether it be 21 or 17, we’ll be good to go.”
Haggerty also confirmed that Brandon Douglas could be recalled from his loan at Halifax Panthers dependent on how his side come through training: “We’ve had a good day today and still need to assess so I’m going to sit down with the staff and go through all them possibilities but we may need to recall Duggy (Brandon Douglas) from Halifax, but I’ll know more by the end of today.”
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