Salford Red Devils injury news: Brodie Croft absence explained as Man of Steel picks up ‘niggle’

Drew Darbyshire
Brodie Croft Salford Red Devils

Salford Red Devils star Brodie Croft won’t feature in Sunday’s clash with Wigan Warriors due to the reigning Man of Steel picking up an injury.

The superstar half-back was a notable absentee in Paul Rowley’s 21-man squad that was announced on Friday lunchtime ahead of Sunday’s home game against Wigan.

“He’s got a little niggle,” said Red Devils assistant coach Krisnan Inu in the club’s weekly press conference.

“He’s been playing big minutes and obviously he is our key man on the edges so just a bit of rest.

“We have given him a bit of time off this week and hopefully get him back next week.

“We’ve got boys to fill in and we’ve got some classy players who can play in more than one position.

“We’ve got boys who can play in other positions that can fill in the Man of Steel spot over there.”

Salford Red Devils assistant coach provides update on Andy Ackers

England international hooker Andy Ackers hasn’t featured since May 28 after failing two head injury assessments in the space of a couple of weeks.

The 29-year-old won’t feature for Salford this weekend, but Inu says that Ackers is in good spirits and is training well.

“Ackers is ready to go,” Inu added.

“There’s a few boxes he’s got to tick but he’s ready to go. I think its up to Super League or the RFL to determine which boxes still need to be ticked but he’s been training well and he’s ready to go.

“Ackers hasn’t been playing for a few weeks. There’s nothing to worry about, we’ve got some good players coming in and they are ready to do their job and fill in those holes and play their part in what makes us a complete team.”

Salford will aim to return to winning ways on Sunday, but Inu knows they need to be much better than in last week’s Challenge Cup quarter-final defeat at Hull KR.

“Anyone that comes up against Wigan knows they are in for a big battle so you are always ready for a big game,” Inu added.

“The boys that have come in know they’ve got a job to do and its a big one at that, so they’ll be preparing the best they can and they are the form side, so they’ll just be worrying about what they are going to bring and we’ll be worrying about us.”

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