Warrington Wolves will have George Williams line up for them in Thursday’s game against York Knights, with head coach Sam Burgess confirming that his captain is ‘100% more than ready to play’.
It’s been an impressive turnaround for Williams in getting back on the field with five rounds of Super League still to play given early suggestions indicated that his season, and therefore his time in a Warrington shirt, may have been over.
The England captain will leave Warrington Wolves at the end of the year and make the move to the NRL and after suffering his neck injury earlier in the year against Catalans, fears quickly emerged over his future.
Williams was named to Warrington’s 21-man squad earlier today and when speaking to the press, Burgess confirmed his intent on playing his captain.
“George will play. He’s driven that. I think he’s fed up of training but he’s healthy,” Burgess said in a presser, shared by BBC Radio Merseyside.
“He’s had every scan and check he can possibly have and he’s keen to play. Whether he plays a full game or not, I’m not sure, but it’ll be good to see him back out there.”
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Warrington Wolves to welcome back George Williams
Williams’ return will cause some form of selection headache as both young halves Leon Hayes and Ewan Irwin have played well in his absence but Burgess was clear that the captain will feature, with his early return set to afford him time to find form before the play-offs.
Burgess said: “We want George to go and have some fun, to enjoy being back out there with his team-mates and we’re playing at the Halliwell Jones Stadium as well, which is nice for him to come back here.
“It might take him a couple of weeks to get back his rhythm and that feel but it’ll give us enough time between now and the end of the year.”
He also admitted that this return wasn’t a foregone conclusion, admitting: “There was a time early in the season we thought it wasn’t looking good for him for the rest of the year so I think the news has just been positive throughout, which has helped his recovery.
“He’s the England captain. He’s a wonderful asset to the game in this country and soon to be in the NRL and he’s got his head screwed on at the moment and he’s grateful to get the opportunity to play again at Warrington.”
Pushed further on the sort of role that Williams will play, Burgess affirmed his captain’s fitness as he explained that minutes may be managed given that the Wolves play Hull KR just five days after facing York.
The Warrington boss asserted: “George is ready to play. More than 100% he’s ready to play. If we don’t play him 80 then it’s due to the fact of the short turnaround coming up.
“There’s only five days difference between the games, so he fancies a run this week and it will make him a little bit better next week.”
