How St Helens have responded to Matty Lees blow as boss hails squad “camaraderie”

St Helens boss Paul Rowley has spoken about the impact the loss of captain Matty Lees has had and will have on the rest of the team.

Lees will miss the rest of the 2026 season after picking up a knee injury when going to make the first tackle of the Challenge Cup semi-finals against Wigan Warriors.

The England international went down innocuously and was helped from the field by the physios, in what was a huge blow in the opening minute of such a huge game.

Saints obviously went on to lose that game, and whilst it wasn’t the only reason for such a defeat,  Lees’ early exit certainly played its part.

Rowley spoke to the press earlier this afternoon to preview the club’s game against Huddersfield Giants tomorrow [Thursday], but most of the talk did surround the loss of the Saints skipper.

The boss revealed that Lees has suffered an injury to his patella tendon, which means his season and his World Cup hopes are over.

Asked how Lees is doing after surgery, the Saints boss said: “He had his operation yesterday, along with Jake Wingfield.

“Both came through with no further complications than what we expected and saw on the scan.

“Obviously, today’s the first day of recovery for both of them, but mentally he’s strong.”

Rowley revealed that despite not being on the field, Lees will still feature heavily within the Saints camp, who all hope to see their leader back on the field sooner rather than later.

“The team obviously have a lot of feelings for Matty and wish him all the best and care deeply for him.

“But, you know, in sporting environments, and rugby in particular, there’s a self-defence mechanism a little bit to make sure we have humour in the camp.

“Most groups, you know, through humour and camaraderie… move on pretty quick. So, he’ll be involved every step of the way.

“We’ll be checking on him. He’ll be in and around us and leading in different ways. And so, yeah, he’s still with us every step of the way.”

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