St Helens forward to return from lengthy absence as coach teases changes for Leigh Leopards clash

St Helens boss Paul Wellens has hinted that there may be changes to his 17 for Thursday night’s crunch clash against Leigh Leopards: with James Bell set to feature for the first time since mid-April.

Fourth-placed Saints – who have won five Super League games in a row – host third-placed Leigh, who come into the contest on the back of victories against both Wigan Warriors and Hull KR.

Wellens will be forced into rotation having seen both Daryl Clark and Jake Burns fail HIAs during last Friday evening’s win at Leeds Rhinos, and having been named in the 21, utility forward Bell is all set for his long-awaited return.

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St Helens forward to return from lengthy absence as coach teases changes for Leigh Leopards clash

The New Zealand-born Scotland international, who joined Saints from Leigh back in 2022, hasn’t made an appearance since Round 7 due to a foot fracture, and required surgery during his recovery to remove a piece of bone.

In Wednesday afternoon’s pre-match press conference, Wellens detailed: “Belly’s been working hard with the physios. He’s been out now for a good 12/13 weeks, it might even have been longer.

“It’s good to have Belly back in the fold. He’s started to integrate fully with the squad and if you cast your mind back to when he was in the squad, you can see what he brings to us when he’s fit and he’s at his best.

“There’ll potentially be a couple of new faces in the team given the fact that we’ve been asking a lot of the same players for a number of weeks now.

“We’ve got a number of players out at this moment in time who I know are working so hard behind the scenes with the physios to get back to full fitness.

“But I know how frustrating it can be as well for those players who see the team out on the field every week and they do all they can to be out there.

“Joe Batchelor’s another, Jack Welsby is certainly one, and there are a number of others who feel frustrated but are doing all they can to get back in the team.”

Among the Red V’s current absentees sits off-season recruit Lewis Murphy, who has been out of action since late May with a quad injury.

Providing an update on the winger, head coach Wellens said: “We have no game after this weekend, and then we play Castleford (on August 1) then Wakefield.

“I think the Castleford game may come too soon for him, but potentially the Wakefield game (on August 8) after that.

“There are certain things that Lewis has to complete with the physios though before that becomes a reality.”

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