Tyler Dupree’s Toulouse Olympique absence explained before Wigan Warriors reunion

Eyebrows were raised when Tyler Dupree was not named in Toulouse Olympique’s squad to face parent club Wigan Warriors this weekend.

The prop, on a season-long loan with the French club, was in line to feature against the Warriors after his off-season switch, but was not named in the 21-man squad named on Thursday. The nature of his loan deal means Dupree is free to feature, with season-long arrangements routinely allowing for players to run out against their parent clubs.

His absence did raise questions, but Love Rugby League has learned that the reason for Dupree’s absence is related to an injury, rather than ineligibility.

Dupree, a regular during Wigan’s quadruple-winning campaign, suffered an ankle injury in Toulouse’s first defeat of the season at the expense of Bradford Bulls last week.

Scans have shown that the 26-year-old will require a spell on the sidelines, though the injury is not a serious one and he is not expected to miss any more than three weeks, which means he may only miss two games with Toulouse not featuring in the Challenge Cup.

It remains a blow for Toulouse, though, who has been excellent in the opening rounds of the season, laying the platform for the French alongside fellow prop Lambert Belmas.

Toulouse have started the season well, securing wins over Wakefield Trinity and Castleford Tigers before their defeat to the Bulls.

But they will now have to deal without their most experienced Super League player for the next couple of rounds, made all the more difficult by the fact they take on red-hot Wigan, who are the only team to have three wins from three games to start the Super League wins after beating Castleford, then emphatically dispatching of Hull FC and Leigh Leopards in consecutive weeks.