Warrington Wolves: Daryl Powell confirms minor injury blow to star performer
Matty Ashton scores against St Helens in Super League
Warrington Wolves head coach Daryl Powell has confirmed that Matty Ashton has suffered a fresh calf strain, ruling him out of the clash against Wigan in Super League.
The 24-year-old superstar winger crossed twice in the recent 24-20 defeat to St Helens at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, taking his tally to 15 for the season.
He has been ever-present in Super League in 2023, but has not been included in the 21-man squad to travel to the DW Stadium for this Friday’s televised clash.
Having missed last week’s Round 18 fixture against the Saints due to a knock, winger or full-back Josh Thewlis is also expected to miss the next few weeks due to injury.
Matty Ashton suffers minor blow
“We’ve git a couple of injuries,” boss Powell explained.
“Matty Ashton and Josh Thewlis drop out. Obviously we’ve got Connor Wrench in there, Greg Minikin and Matty Russell.
“We get Sam Kasiano and James Harrison back from suspension this week, so that helps in the middle which will be handy.
“Josh [Thewlis] has just tweaked his knee which he had a bit of an issue with. It’s not terrible, but it’s two or three weeks.
“For Matty Ashton, it’s a slight calf strain.
“It’s not too bad, he’ll be one or two weeks.
“Obviously we don’t play next week, so fingers crossed he’s back for the next game, but if not it’ll be Catalans.”
George Williams has been named once again in the 21-man squad, with a more realistic potential return on the cards for the marquee man.
Back-rower Matty Nicholson has been named following his finger injury sustained in May, although Powell admits it may be a week too soon.
The Wolves take on fourth-placed Wigan, with both sides on 22 points on the Super League table, before a break for the Challenge Cup semi-finals.
“We’ve got another day of practise, we trained well today and pretty hard,” Powell said.
“Matty Nicholson might need another week and George has trained all week.
“We’ll see, but I’ll get a check on him tomorrow and see if he’s good.”
WARRINGTON WOLVES TRANSFER NEWS: Explosive NRL star clarifies immediate future ahead of Super League switch
FOLLOW: Keep up with all the latest on the Love Rugby League mobile app