St Helens will be without hooker Daryl Clark for the remainder of the 2026 season, boss Paul Rowley has confirmed
Clark was already one of 16 first-team players to be sidelined through injury, and after picking up an ankle knock in the Magic Weekend defeat to Wigan, he was said to be out for around eight weeks.
However, further tests have shown that the England international will require surgery, meaning the lay-off will be a lot longer than expected.
Rowley confirmed the news to the media this afternoon [Wednesday], saying: “Daryl’s out for the season, so he needs an operation.
“He’s got an ankle injury, [it’s the] ligaments to his ankle, so he needs an operation.”
Clark’s absence is arguably the biggest loss of them all, with him being so influential in terms of talent and experience within the side.
Not only will it be a blow for Saints, but potentially for England too, with Rowley labelling him “touch and go” for the Rugby League World Cup at the end of the season.
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Two players that were supposed to be back in contention for their game against Catalans this week were prop pair Alex Walmsley and George Delaney.
However, difficulties with their return-to-play protocols have meant that both will be out for an indefinite period.
Clarifying their status, Rowley said: “It’s their second ones, so you’ve got to get a specialist clearance. That’s not the case, so they’re still unavailable.
“…It’s a bit of an unknown really. They go to a specialist, and the specialist then will dictate whether they should sit there another week, two weeks, three weeks, four weeks.
“Whatever the specialist says he feels that they need, we just follow his lead.”
