St Helens suffer huge Matty Lees injury blow with timeline confirmed
Matty Lees in action for St Helens in 2025
St Helens have been dealt a major blow ahead of the Super League season, with Matty Lees ruled out with a long-term knee injury.
The prop, who was a lead performer for England in the Ashes series against Australia, suffered a knee injury in the Challenge Cup clash with Workington Town, which saw him leave the field of play.
Scans have shown that Lees has suffered a medial injury which will see him miss approximately 12 weeks of action.
It’s a huge blow for Saints, with Paul Rowley now needing to navigate the start of the season without his newly-appointed captain. Lees played 29 games for the Saints last year as they progressed to the semi-finals of Super League.
It means they will head to Warrington Wolves without their two enforcers from last season, with Morgan Knowles departed for the NRL at the end of last season.
Saints do have options in the pack. Alex Walmsley, David Klemmer, George Delaney, Agnatius Paasi and Noah Stephens are among the options at their disposal in the middle unit ahead of their game with Sam Burgess’ side on Friday night.
Mark Percival is another injury doubt for Saints having yet to feature in the off-season games after ankle surgery following the conclusion of the 2025 season.
Warrington themselves suffered an injury blow in the Challenge Cup, with James Bentley going off in their victory over Sheffield Eagles. After the game, Burgess admitted Bentley ‘wasn’t in a good way’, casting doubt over his availability for the game. However, the Wire are expected to recall the likes of Matty Ashton, James Harrison, Sam Powell and Luke Yates, leaving them near to being full strength for the contest at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
