St Helens coach delivers double injury blow verdict as Lewis Murphy ‘risk’ backfires
St Helens wingers Lewis Murphy and Kyle Feldt have both picked up injuries.
St Helens coach Paul Wellens admits Lewis Murphy’s return to the side that defeated Castleford Tigers was a ‘risk’ – with winger Kyle Feldt also now in doubt for next weekend’s play-off opener at Leeds.
The Saints edged past Castleford with another unconvincing performance, winning 28-26 and withstanding a late rally from Chris Chester’s side. They would have finished fifth irrespective of that result.
But the big concern for Wellens was the loss of both Murphy and Feldt to injuries through the course of that game that leave them both – at best – doubts to feature against Leeds Rhinos next Saturday evening.
Murphy’s return to the team backfired as he left the field before Feldt also went off clutching his back.
Wellens effectively appeared to rule Murphy out next week, saying his return earlier than expected ‘wasn’t to be’, before playing Feldt’s injury situation with a straighter bat.
Wellens said: “I think Lewis was a recurrence (of his quad injury) and we knew it was a risk, Lewis coming back into the team. he was adamant he wanted to put his best forward but it wasn’t to be. It was some back spasms for Kyle, I’m not sure how serious it is at this stage. It’s not ideal but rugby league throws these things at you and you’ve got to find a way to offset those losses.”
The Saints coach did admit he was disappointed with his side’s display against the Tigers, labelling it ‘indifferent’ and lamenting their sloppy finish.
He said: “Credit to Castleford there for not going away. There were some indifferent stuff there for us tonight. We had a few new faces which doesn’t help things at times but we’ll reflect on this performance and take away a few things. But we’ve got to be disappointed with that last ten minutes, how we allowed the opposition in despite the disruptions.”
When asked to sum up the challenge of facing Leeds, Wellens said: “What a great opportunity for us and an exciting challenge. It’s a great place to go and it’s always a fantastic atmosphere.”
