St Helens coach ‘fearful’ on star’s injury as spine verdict delivered after Hull FC win

St Helens coach Paul Wellens admits he is ‘fearful’ over a prolonged absence for young star Owen Dagnall after he was helped from the field in their victory over Hull FC.

Dagnall has been a revelation this year for the Saints in the absence of Lewis Murphy, and has become one of the stars of their upturn in form.

The Saints moved up to second on Friday night after defeating the Black and Whites 16-10, making it nine wins in ten games.

But the loss of Dagnall after he pulled up with an apparent hamstring injury in the closing stages of that game was cause for concern for Wellens.

And he admitted he was worried that the signs point to a significant injury for the young winger.

He said: “I think when a player pulls up like that it’s never a good sign. We’ll get it assessed, I’m hoping for good news but I’m a bit more on the fearful side.”

The Saints did not quite replicate the standards they have set in recent weeks in the victory against the Black and Whites, but still did enough to secure a vital victory that solidified their position in the play-offs.

And Wellens admitted it wasn’t quite where he had hoped his side would be.

He said: “It was a really hard-fought win. I thought we showed some character in the game because Hull are a quality side who never go away and we knew we’d have to play for the full 80 minutes. Certain aspects of our game weren’t where they were needed to be though.”

Wellens also made a huge call in dropping Jonny Lomax to the bench and moving Tristan Sailor to the bench.

When asked about that call, and why he brought Lomax on late on, Wellens said: “I just felt at the time we ended Jonny’s experience on the field and he came on and did a really good job. It’s a different combination, we’ll assess the performance and learn some lessons moving forwards.”