Warrington receive boost with George Williams return confirmed as Joe Philbin injury prognosis delivered

George Williams will make his long-awaited return for Warrington Wolves on Thursday night, and a number of his team-mates are returning from lay-offs of their own, too.

Club captain Williams has been sidelined since mid-April, when he suffered a serious neck injury during a defeat to Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.

The neck injury required surgery, and there were initial fears the half-back – who will leave to join the Dolphins in the NRL at the end of the season – may not play for Wire again.

But his progression over the last few months has been wholly positive, and having been given the green light to return to action, he will make his return on Thursday night as Sam Burgess’ side host York Knights at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Warrington receive boost with George Williams return confirmed

Thursday night’s Round 23 clash is the first of three games in ten days for Warrington, who travel to Hull KR next Tuesday night (August 18) and then host Huddersfield Giants on August 23.

In Tuesday afternoon’s pre-match press conference at the HJ looking ahead to the meeting with York, head coach Burgess confirmed: “George will play, he’s driven that, I think he’s fed up of training!

“He’s healthy, he’s had every scan and check you can possibly have, and he’s keen to play.

Whether he plays the full game or not, I’m not sure, but it will be good to see him back out there. He’s 100% ready to play, if we don’t play him 80 then it’s due to the short turnarounds coming up.

“We eyed next week (against Hull KR for his return), but he’s come through so well and there’s only five days’ difference between the games. He fancies a run this week, and that’ll make him a little bit better next week.

“We want George to go and have some fun, and enjoy being back out there with his team-mates. We’re playing at home, too, which is nice for him to come back here.”

Heading into Round 23, Wire – who beat Bradford Bulls at Odsal last weekend – sit fourth on the Super League ladder.

Burgess added: “It might take him a couple of weeks to get his rhythm back, but it gives us enough time between now and the end of the year.

“There was a time earlier in the season we thought it wasn’t looking good for him for the rest of the year, but the news has just been positive throughout, which has helped his recovery.

“He’s the England captain, he’s a wonderful asset to the game in this country and he’s soon to be that in the NRL. He’s got his head screwed on at the moment, and he’s ready to play for Warrington again.”

Joe Philbin injury prognosis delivered

Sam Stone, Cai Taylor-Wray and Arron Lindop are all back in contention for the clash against the Knights, too.

Back-rower Stone has been sidelined since the Challenge Cup semi-finals back in May, while Taylor-Wray and Lindop both featured in a reserves clash against Wigan Warriors on Sunday afternoon as they near full fitness.

Burgess explained: “You don’t realise what he (Stone) does for the team until he’s not playing. He’s a bit of an unsung hero, but the players really respect him and he’s got great positioning in the group.

“It’s nice to get him back, we’re mindful of his minutes, but he’s been training now for a couple of weeks and he’s looked smooth.

“It was good for them (Taylor-Wray and Lindop) to get 80 minutes under their belts in a tough (reserves) contest. They’re not far away, the challenge is that by the time kick-off comes around, it will have been a four-day turnaround for them.

“It might be a bit of a push, maybe one will play and the other won’t.”

The one fresh blow suffered by Wire during last weekend’s victory at Odsal was to front-rower Joe Philbin, who was forced off soon after scoring a try with what has now been confirmed as a foot injury.

Set for a few weeks out, head coach Burgess detailed: “(Joe) Philbin is injured, he might miss two or three games. It’s nothing huge, it’s something with his foot… it’s a bit of a funny one but thankfully there’s no break.

“It’s a bit of a ligament issue, but it’s nothing too major.

“With the others (who have dropped out of the 21-man squad), everyone is healthy. We always had a plan for Kelepi (Tanginoa) not to be involved, so he’ll more than likely be available next week.”

WATCH THE LRL PODCAST!