St Helens have confirmed the injury timeline for star full-back Jack Welsby after he left the field in their loss to Warrington Wolves.
Welsby, who suffered a dislocated shoulder in the act of scoring, will be sidelined for up to four months, head coach Paul Rowley confirmed when speaking to media.
It’s a devastating blow for a club who had already seen captain Matty Lees go down with a 12-week knee injury the week before the season started.
After Morgan Knowles left the club for the NRL at the end of the 2025 season, it now means St Helens are without three of their biggest stars in terms of performance and leadership.
Speaking to media ahead of Friday night’s game against Leigh Leopards, Paul Rowley confirmed Welsby’s status: “Jack is in for an operation tomorrow, so he will be out for three to four months.”
On the prognosis, he confirmed: “Shoulder dislocation so there’s a bit of damage in and around that area.
“Losing a marquee player and vice-captain is a huge blow, just like (losing) Matty Lees was. There are a couple of players there missing for long periods of time that have a big influence on this team, so it’s not ideal.”
St Helens bad injury luck continues
Rowley had confirmed post-match on Friday night that Welsby had left to go to hospital due to his injury, with the coach then explaining that it could be a similar timeline to that of Matty Lees.
Instead, it’s even worse with the England international set to miss significant time for the second season in a row following last year’s knee injury that he sustained against Hull KR.
The full-back was able to return late in the season last year whilst the return date for this current shoulder injury is mid-season, potentially in and around their round 14 clash at home to Warrington Wolves, the side where Welsby first suffered the injury.
One positive is that Saints do have several options to replace Welsby with half-back Tristan Sailor the man who filled in last year, whilst recent signing Nene Macdonald can also play the role and regularly does so for Papua New Guinea.
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