St Helens ‘down on troops’ as Paul Wellens provides latest on Sione Mata’utia
Picture by John Rushworth/SWpix.com.
St Helens boss Paul Wellens admits Sione Mata’utia will be sidelined for an extended period of time following his sickening head injury sustained in the Good Friday defeat to Wigan.
The former Samoa and Australia international was stretchered from the field inside the DW Stadium with 10 minutes to go after being knocked out while defending.
Mata’utia, 26, had only returned that game following an 11-day head injury protocol after suffering a blow in the 14-12 win over Huddersfield.
Wellens says the medical team are taking the matter seriously with Mata’utia given an extended period of time to recover from the horror blow.
Sione Mata’utia latest
“I think it’s going to be lengthier than your normal concussion protocol would be considering it’s his second head knock in a few weeks,” Wellens said, with St Helens taking on Hull KR this Friday.
“The medical staff are very diligent in how they’re going to go about returning Sione first to training and then obviously to games after that.
“I don’t think we can give it a definite timeframe, but we are going to be taking a cautious approach with Sione.”
Alex Walmsley remains sidelined and missed the Good Friday derby following a hamstring injury sustained against Wakefield.
Morgan Knowles faces tribunal on Tuesday evening for a Grade D dangerous contact charge, while Joe Batchelor is still recovering from an ankle injury picked up against St George Illawarra Dragons, limiting numbers for Wellens to choose from in his pack.
“We’ve got a bit of a challenge on at the moment,” Wellens said.
“Alex Walmsley is obviously injured. We trained today and we’ve still got question marks over Agnatius Paasi and Jake Wingfield.
“Certainly with our middle unit, we’re a little bit down on troops at the moment.
“But what it does do is provide other people with opportunities.
“And as we’ve seen in recent weeks in George Delaney, he’s come in and done a real good job in some of the games he’s played.
“There may be opportunities for others as well.
“Injuries are part and parcel of the game and suspensions are part and parcel of the game and we’ve got to deal with them and field the best team possible on Friday.”
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