Warrington Wolves captain George Williams outlines injury timeframe with bold target set

Warrington Wolves captain George Williams is attempting to return from his ankle injury quicker than any rugby league player has ever done before, with the Challenge Cup final on June 7 his target.

Wire skipper Williams ruptured ligaments in his ankle in the closing stages of their 28-16 defeat at home against Hull FC on April 12, and required surgery to fix the issue.

That surgery took place within a few days of the injury occurring, with Wolves head coach Sam Burgess confirming that an injury lay-off of around ten weeks was expected.

That would take Williams up until near the end of June, but he’s now explained he’s hoping to be back much sooner.

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Warrington Wolves captain George Williams outlines injury timeframe with bold target set

Burgess’ side take on Leigh in the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup on Sunday afternoon, and if they manage to overcome the Leopards, they’ll reach the final of the competition for the second year running.

The final this year takes place on June 7, and appearing on Sky Sports’ ‘The Bench‘ podcast, Williams has revealed that is his target for a return.

He detailed: “I think the posh word for it is ‘syndesmosis’, and it’s basically ruptured ankle ligaments.

“I did a Grade Two – which isn’t a full rupture but a tear – in Round One last year, so it was basically a ticking time bomb for me.

“If you’ve already got little tears in there, then the same movement will eventually snap it, which is what happened to me.

“Eight-to-ten weeks is what they normally say, but we’re following a programme that Leinster rugby union have used that gets players back in seven (weeks).

“That’s the goal for me. I’ve had two weeks off already after surgery, and it’s five weeks until Wembley if we get there.

“That would be seven weeks and two days (since it happened). It’s been done, before but I think only two players have managed that, and they’re both rugby union players.

“It all depends on the semi-final, but if we do win, I’ll hopefully be putting my hand up to play (in the final).”

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Williams provides latest on injured team-mates Sneyd and Hayes

Alongside Williams, Warrington are also without fellow first-team halves Marc Sneyd and Leon Hayes at the moment.

Sneyd suffered a fractured eye socket against St Helens on April 24, while Hayes has been sidelined since last April having fractured and dislocated his ankle in a game against Salford Red Devils before picking up other niggling injuries post-rehab.

Williams offered an update on both of those, saying: “I think Sneydy is going to play pretty soon. He’s a lot tougher than I thought.

“I didn’t have him down as a tough player, but he’s going to play pretty quickly and will be a massive part of us going forward.

“He (Hayes) has had a tough ride.

“He got back fit in pre-season and then tore his hamstring. I think it was his body not being used to running after nine months out.

“He missed eight weeks with that and then his ankle started hurting again.

“It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for him and he’s doing it tough, but I’ve said to him that he’s hopefully got another 15 years of a career left as he’s only 21.

“Hopefully this is his bad luck and he can have a clear run. He feels stuck at the moment, but he’s really positive to be honest.

“They’re hoping he’ll be back in the next month to six weeks.”

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