Wakefield dealt double injury blow as star duo set for lengthy absences

Wakefield Trinity look set to be without winger Oli Pratt and half-back Mason Lino for prolonged periods – with both set to miss the next six weeks of action.

Pratt and Lino were both notable absentees for Trinity on Friday night as they were comprehensively beaten by Challenge Cup holders Wigan Warriors.

Powell had no complaints about the outcome or the result post-match, insisting the best team won.

But he returned a fairly grim injury verdict on two of the players who were missing on Friday at the DIY Kitchens Stadium for the defeat to the Warriors.

Lino and Pratt injuries explained

Powell confirmed in the run-up to the game that Lino would be ruled out with a calf problem – and while he said he wasn’t still completely certain on the extent of the issue, he was bracing himself for a lengthy period without a key player.

He said: “I’m not 100 per cent sure – potentially it’s five or six weeks.

“There’s a couple of boys coming into the team tonight and it’s their first game for four or five weeks and going into that level of performance is interesting – but they’ll be better for that. When you look at the level they played at tonight, I don’t think we were at our usual selves.”

As for Pratt, who was considered a doubt pre-match and failed to make the Trinity 17, Powell confirmed:  “Pratt is a longer term one, he looks like eight weeks.”

Fullback Josh Rourke’s injury which kept him out on Friday has not yet been fully diagnosed – but Powell admitted it would not be long-term.

“Wigan were awesome”

Powell paid credit to Wigan post-match for the way they hammered his side, insisting they were ‘awesome’.

He said: “I thought Wigan were awesome from start to finish. It was too slow from us, a really poor performance but that’s all I’ve got to say. We’ve got to learn some lessons and move on. I thought it was all Wigan. They completely dominated the game. We got beat in every facet of the game and we’ll have to put it behind us and move on.”