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How Paul Wellens reacted to THAT Jermaine McGillvary Tweet

Wigan Warriors overcame St Helens on Good Friday in front of a packed-out DW Stadium however they sadly suffered a huge injury blow.

It’s been confirmed that Mike Cooper will be out for 9-12 months having damaged his ACL in a tackle that involved Morgan Knowles.

For Knowles’ involvement in that tackle he’s been hit with a Grade D charge of dangerous contact, which carries up to a three match ban.

Knowles heads to tribunal tonight and Paul Wellens was asked about the case in a press conference on SaintsTV.

“We just got the charge sheets and that was the information provided. I suppose at this stage with a tribunal to follow later on tonight I can’t really say too much.

“We’ll let that process take place and should we need to comment after it then we will, but with the process still ongoing I think it’s probably better I say very little at the moment.”

One man who did say something though was Jermaine McGillvary and the Huddersfield winger sent a tweet of support for Mike Cooper, who has suffered an ACL injury and will be out for 9-12 months as a result of Knowles’ tackle.

McGillvary tweeted his support for Cooper and then called for the tackle technique to be eradicated from the game.

Wellens was then specifically asked about McGillvary’s tweet.

“That’s the first I’d heard of it. All I know is that we got a call from the Match Review Panel on Monday that we needed to appear at a tribunal because Morgan Knowles had been charged with a Grade D.

“What I would say is that no coach, player or anybody involved in the game wants players to suffer injuries, but also at the same time injuries are part and parcel of the sprot given the nature of it being a contact sport.

“What I can do is speak confidently around Morgan Knowles as a person, how tough he plays the game, how honest he is and how he as a person doesn’t go out on the field to injure players.”

Wellens then went on to discuss the concept of ‘trial by social media’ and reiterated that Knowles was set to head to a tribunal later on.

“Rugby league is about opinion, we all have them. Whether you’re players, a coach, in the media or a supporter and I suppose what social media does is it gives everybody a platform to voice their opinion.

“If that’s the route that players want to go down then I have to respect that because they’re not doing anything wrong. I suppose we do have to be careful sometimes especially when we’re facing a tribunal tonight, that it doesn’t become trial by social media.

“Morgan is obviously disappointed that a player has been injured. he doesn’t go out on the field to injure an opponent. I don’t think there’s many players who do, if any at all.”

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