Wilkes suffers injury blow

James Gordon

Wakefield prop Oliver Wilkes has been ruled out for up to two months after snapping ligaments in his thumb.

Wilkes, 31, picked up the injury in the first half of the win over Salford last Saturday, but played on to help the Wildcats to just their third win of the season.

Coach Richard Agar said: “Oli required immediate attention on snapped ligaments and will be out for six to eight weeks.

“It is really disappointing because his hard work was paying off and he was excellent against Salford.”

The Cumbrian forward missed just two Super League games while at Harlequins last season, having played every single league match for Wakefield in both 2008 and 2009, and Harlequins in 2010.

He made his Super League debut back in 1998 for Sheffield Eagles, going on to play for Huddersfield, Keighley, Leigh, Whitehaven, Wigan and Widnes.