Brad O’Neill injury verdict delivered as Wigan Warriors’ worst fears realised

Wigan Warriors’ worst fears surrounding Brad O’Neill have come true, with the young hooker having suffered an ACL injury during their defeat to Warrington Wolves, boss Matt Peet has confirmed.

O’Neill was forced off in the early stages of the second half last Friday night as Wigan were beaten 40-4 on home soil by the Wolves, going down without any contact and clutching at his knee as he did so.

The 22-year-old had to be helped from the field by two members of the Warriors’ medical staff, and post-match, boss Peet admitted that he was left fearing the worst.

Wigan host Huddersfield Giants on Thursday night in the first of three games over a 10-day period.

And speaking on Tuesday afternoon in his pre-match press conference ahead of that clash with the Giants, Peet delivered the verdict on O’Neill’s injury, with his – and the club’s – worst fears confirmed.

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The Warriors chief detailed: “It’s confirmed that he’s done his ACL. He had his scan last night, and he’s got another follow-up to come with the specialist.

“As far as a timeframe goes, whatever I say could be wrong, but you’re looking at upwards of nine months (for a return).

“All of our concern is with Brad, but he seems to be handling himself really well. He did his other ACL as a junior, so he kind of knew what it was, and he knows what the rehabilitation is going to look like.

“He’s determined to come back stronger than ever, but it’s a bit early to be talking about that.”

Fellow hooker Kruise Leeming – who was named in Peet’s 21-man squad ahead of the defeat to Warrington but wasn’t quite ready  for gameday – has now recovered from a syndesmosis issue and is expected to fill the void left by O’Neill’s absence.

Elsewhere, academy product Tom Forber should be back in contention within the next few weeks. He has also been suffering with a syndesmosis problem which was picked up while playing on loan for Championship outfit Barrow Raiders.

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