Huddersfield Giants veteran Tom Burgess could be facing a lengthy lay-off, after suffering a hip injury.
The former England and NRL star missed last week’s game against Leigh Leopards, and dropped out of the club’s 21-man squad this week to take on Warrington Wolves.
The Giants are finally starting to get a hold on their lengthy injury concerns, but Burgess’ knock will undoubtedly be a big blow given his vast experience and leadership qualities.
Interim head coach Liam Finn revealed that the prognosis is a “little bit of a grey area”, with the club unsure how he sustained the issue or how serious it could be.
“He’s got a hip problem and it’s under investigation,” Finn said in his weekly press conference.
“I can’t really say what the prognosis is. We’re just going from day to day and hopefully we get some more answers in the not-too-distant future.
“It’s not something he’s picked up in a game. It’s probably an issue that has been building from wear and tear.
“We don’t know the full extent of it. The right people are doing the right investigations to get to the bottom of it and see what the next steps are.
“…We’re more concerned for ‘Burg’ really, just to know where he’s at with the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what the plan is.
“But the medical team are getting appointments and getting that in order as quickly as we can so we can find out what the plan moving forward will be.”
One player who will be back in contention however is Connor Wrench, who has missed the last couple due to a hamstring issue.
On the former Warrington man, Finn revealed: “I’m really pleased to have him back in the mix. He is a good player first and foremost, but a good character too. He spent a long time at Warrington and it will be a good challenge for him, but one that he is relishing.”
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Huddersfield Giants interim boss left waiting for answers regarding permanent position
This week will mark the fifth game of Finn’s interim coaching spell, and after two brilliant wins over Wigan Warriors and York Knights, things quickly took a turn with performances against Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Leopards not being up to standard.
Tomorrow’s tie with the Wolves could well be the last of his temporary time in charge, however that is still up in the air, with Finn none the wiser as to who will be Luke Robinson’s permanent successor, or when that decision will be made.
“No, not at the minute, no,” the boss replied when asked if he knew how long he had left at the helm.
“The process is going on behind closed doors. I think I’ll have a catch-up with Andy Kelly next week and see what’s happening with that process, just for a little bit of clarity for us as a coaching staff and a group. It’s just business as usual.
Should this game turn out to be the final one of Finn’s reign before he goes back to being an assistant, he has revealed what lessons he has taken from the past six weeks or so, and how that will help him in his coaching career going forward.
“Just the experience and the learning and getting back in to being the head coach’s role, even if it is for a temporary period,” reflected Finn.
“All the light is shining on you when you are making the decisions and getting used to that again is something that I enjoy, something that I’ve got no fear of.
“I enjoy the challenge of trying to protray to the team as best we can and trying to impose some things that I wanted to do on the group in the short term and the way I’d like to coach, just trying to a few things out.
“I’ll reflect on that when the position is no longer mine, or if it’s not mine and see how that went and taking the big learnings from it really.”
