Wigan centre Iain Thornley set for lengthy spell on sidelines

Josh McAllister
Iain Thornley

Matt Peet has confirmed that centre Iain Thornley will be sidelined with injury following Wigan’s victory over Hull KR. 

The Wigan head coach has confirmed that the centre will miss up to two months of action due to an ankle injury.

Thornley, who returned to the club during the off-season, limped from the field at Craven Park in the first half following a tackle made by Albert Vete.

The Hull KR forward has since been given a two-match ban for a Grade C dangerous contact in their 24-10 defeat at home to the Warriors.

Tony Smith confirmed the side did not appeal the decision, agreeing it was the correct call.

Iain Thornley suffers lengthy injury

During his media duties, Peet confirmed the news.

He said: “He’s got a grade two syndesmosis which is probably two months; around eight weeks.

“It’s really upsetting for Iain personally. He’s worked very hard in pre-season. I think I’ve mentioned before, he was one of the shining lights in pre-season. 

“On a personal level, I’m disappointed for Iain. I thought he’d given himself the best chance to hit the ground running in the season.”

When asked about how that impacts his side to face Leeds this Friday, Peet responded: “We’ll stick with the changes we made with Zak (Hardaker) on the wing.”


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Bevan French update

Wigan head coach Matt Peet has revealed Bevan French has not yet returned to UK due to testing positive for Covid-19.

French, 26, was due to land back in the UK earlier last week.

However, the full-back has been delayed in Australia after testing positive for Covid-19.

Peet said: “Believe it or not when he got to the airport to jump on the flight, he tested positive for Covid.

“That was far from ideal after waiting for so long and him being through what he has been through.

“He’s upset. It puts things on hold for eight or nine days. In the next couple of days, hopefully he’ll be on the flight.

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