Casualty Ward: Wigan hooker suffers suspected broken ribs, Jake Trueman’s devastating blow & Salford sweat on scans for skipper
Keep up to date with the latest injury news in Casualty Ward, and it’s a busy one this week including Wigan, Leigh, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Salford, Castleford, Leeds and both Hulls.
Wigan hooker hit with injury in Catalans win
Hooker Brad O’Neill suffered suspected broken ribs in a challenge with Catalans full-back Sam Tomkins, which saw the ex-Wigan star lift his knee in a tackle.
Peet told Wigan Today: “Brad has gone for X-rays. We needled him up to get him back out there in the second half but it was no good.
“He’s got a rib issue and we’ll find out the seriousness of it in the coming days I guess.”
Meanwhile, England international forward Tyler Dupree failed his head injury assessment and will miss this week’s clash against his former club Salford.
Hull KR star receives 15 stitches
Hull KR prop forward and Ireland international George King suffered a deep cut on his cheek in the opening minutes against Leigh in a clash with opposition forward Ben Nakubuwai.
The 28-year-old required 15 stitches and impressively returned to the action.
Sky Sports reporter Jenna Brooks said from the sidelines: “George King came off early in that first half after a nasty cut to his cheek.
“Well I can tell you the club doctor Gemma Phillips has stitched that right up, 15 stitches in that cheek, 15 stitches!
“This game is tough because he is coming back in the next few moments.”
Wakefield’s double blow
With only four rounds of the season remaining, Mark Applegarth’s task is made all the more difficult by fresh injuries to full-back Max Jowitt and centre Reece Lyne.
The Wakefield boss said: “For Max, we will have to see how he settles down. Reece has done his hamstring so we will see how that settles down over the next few days.”
Wakefield have remaining games against St Helens, Catalans, Leigh and Hull KR in their fight for Super League safety.
Salford sweat on scans for skipper
Salford boss Paul Rowley was concerned by a knee injury to skipper Kallum Watkins which he said would need scanning next week.
The Red Devils claimed a 20-0 win at the Salford Stadium in a fairly forgettable fixture on Friday.
“There’s a knee problem in there,” Rowley said.
“That will be going through the process and fingers crossed he’ll be OK. It didn’t seem too bad, but until you get people scanned, you don’t know.”
Blake Austin absence explained
Castleford Tigers playmaker Blake Austin missed the Saints game through a hip injury during Round 23, while last week’s hat-trick hero Greg Eden also did not feature.
The hosts lost winger Will Tate with a serious-looking leg injury in the ninth minute of Saints loss.
Head coach Danny Ward said he expected Austin and Eden both to return for next week’s trip to Warrington, adding: “Blake didn’t quite pull up as expected last week but hopefully he will be OK with a week’s rest and full treatment.”
Josh Charnley update and Leigh injuries
Leigh coach Adrian Lam admitted his side had a few ‘niggling injuries’ against Hull KR in the Challenge Cup rematch, with Willie Peters’ side claiming a massive 52-10 triumph.
In-form winger Josh Charnley was visibly in some discomfort with his ribs, having left the field against Catalans with the same issue.
Lam said: “We had a couple of niggling injuries going into it. The attitude wasn’t right tonight. You are hoping you get your best performance but it wasn’t today.”
Jake Trueman’s devastating injury
Jake Trueman has suffered another serious-looking injury in a bitter blow for both the player and Hull FC.
The 24-year-old marked his return from an ACL injury in May, making 15 appearances and scoring four tries since.
“He’s gone straight to hospital,” Tony Smith said following the 18-4 loss to Warrington.
“We’re pretty confident he’s ruptured his Achilles.
“It’s tough as he’s worked really hard to fight back from injury and started the season late so that’s a pretty significant one for Jake, we’re all feeling for him.
“We’ve no doubt he’ll come back from this as he’s a tough and terrific young man, but it’s a hard one to take and unfortunately these things can happen in our game.”
Meanwhile, Hull prop Ligi Sao is facing a few weeks on the sidelines after the club opted to operate on his knee, via Hull Live.
Huddersfield suffer season-ender
Ian Watson’s Huddersfield have been hit with a season-ending blow to half-back Oliver Russell, who has suffered a suspected broken hand in the win over fellow play-off chasing Leeds Rhinos.
Russell, 24, played on through the pain at the John Smith’s Stadium but coach Watson confirmed the injury after the 21-12 home win.
“Olly Russell has done something bad to his hand,” he said.
“He might have a fracture on his hand, we’ll have to wait and see. It looks pretty bad.”
In the second half Huddersfield lost Sam Halsall to a concussion test after the winger attempted a tackle on Sam Lisone.
Rohan Smith provides James Bentley update
Leeds back-rower James Bentley was stretchered from the field and taken by ambulance to be accessed after a collision with opposition full-back Jake Connor in the first half.
The match was stopped for 10 minutes while the forward was being treated on the pitch.
“He’s OK, he regained consciousness,” head coach Rohan Smith said.
“He was in a bad way for a bit. He’s awaiting a scan for his head and neck.
“But there’s signs he will be OK. He was talking to the doctor before he got into the ambulance.”
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