Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has given a comprehensive injury update ahead of his side’s Super League season opener against St Helens.
That game will be played in front of a sold-out crowd at the Halliwell Jones Stadium with a piece of history on the line as both clubs try to extend dominant runs. Sam Burgess has won every game against St Helens so far in his career, whilst Saints have won the last 12 Super League Round One games.
One of those streaks will end on Friday night with the home side marginal favourites for the game.
Having named his 21-man squad at midday on Wednesday, Sam Burgess spoke to BBC Radio Merseyside to address some of the players who won’t feature, including star winger Matty Ashton.
“He was actually really close,” Burgess said of the England international who has been out since May of last year following an ACL injury.
Burgess pointed to Wire’s round two bye, a result of Hull KR contesting the World Club Challenge, as a key reason why they haven’t rushed Ashton back in, stating: “The thing is, with the fixtures and having a week off next week, the risk-reward for an extra two weeks of him recovering with the ACL. All the numbers and statistics will say that it gives him a greater chance of not only survival, but a greater chance of holding the year out.
“I think the longer we do leave it, the better. We’ve talked about maybe just being smarter and not letting emotion get in the way of decision-making, being really balanced about our approach.”
He added: “We all wanted Matty to play, and we were very close, but we just felt maybe another couple of weeks, and maybe even longer, might just do him good. He’s been straight as a die, he’s had no problems, nothing untoward, it was just a bit of a gut feeling, and probably more so I just wouldn’t have lived with myself if something went wrong.
“We had a third party of medical people come in, and we made a calculated decision, I’d say. I think it’s very intelligent on Matty’s behalf.”
Warrington Wolves signing James Bentley set to see specialist
As well as Ashton missing out, another key man who wasn’t named is off-season signing James Bentley with the ex-Leeds Rhinos man picking up a nasty back injury in the Challenge Cup win against Sheffield Eagles.
Asked about the Irish international, Burgess said: “We don’t know with James, he’s seeing a specialist today. It was a really awkward tackle and you can’t be too careful. He’s not improved a great deal through the week, so there was no chance of playing.
“Whether he’s freed up for a couple of weeks is going to be a different story, the medical team are working hard on him, but he’s actually pretty sore. It’s one of those niggly things that sometimes just disappears overnight, but we’ve just been getting some extra advice and guidance on what to do with it.”
Others who didn’t feature in that game against Sheffield but have been named for the St Helens meeting are veterans Sam Powell and Harrison, both of whom have a chance of playing.
Burgess said: “Sam (Powell) has done well to get himself in a position to play, Jimmy (Harrison) has fully recovered, he’s had a little bump from the week before, so it’s good to go.”
There’s also the prospect of a debut for NRL signing Toafofoa Sipley, who missed all of pre-season as a result of a ban he landed late in the 2025 NRL campaign.
On Sipley, the Warrington boss said: “It’s been a longer pre-season or so it felt like for him because he had a three-game suspension carried over from the NRL. He’s ready to play, I think he’s excited he’s not doing conditioning anymore, he’s out of that conditioning group, he’s a good character and he’s got a wealth of experience, he knows his way around the field, so we’ll get to see him on the weekend, which will be nice.”
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