Former Wigan Warriors man suffers season-ending injury

A former Wigan Warriors player who lifted the Super League trophy twice has suffered a season-ending injury.

Iain Thornley left Wigan at the end of the 2023 season and made the switch to Wakefield Trinity, where he starred during their treble-winning campaign in the Championship.

Upon Trinity’s promotion, he signed a two-year deal with League One winners and Championship new boys Oldham but the Roughyeds have now confirmed that the 33-year-old has suffered a season-ending injury.

Oldham have had a number of issues in the centres this year and that saw them loan in Salford Red Devils star Nene Macdonald before he departed to Australia for the birth of his child, however, Oldham’s centre problems have now worsened.

That’s because they have confirmed that Iain Thornley will miss the remainder of the 2025 season after rupturing his ACL in the win against Featherstone Rovers in April. Incredibly, the former Wigan Warriors man played on but scans have now confirmed the extent of the injury.

Ex-Wigan Warriors man Iain Thornley ruptures ACL

The Championship side released a statement to confirm the news with Thornley also announcing that it’s likely his season is done.

“It looks like my season is over,” he explained on the club’s YouTube channel.

“We thought it was a bit of bone bruising but after I tried training and felt a bit uneasy under foot we had a scan and it has come back as a complete rupture of my ACL.”

Incredibly, Thornley not only made it through the Featherstone game but was preparing for the clash against Bradford before realising the extent of the inury.

He explained: “I think I have done it in the Featherstone game, we thought it was bruising and I finished the game somehow. Then I had a week off, got through some training but in the team run (ahead of Bradford) I felt my knee slip a bit in the warm up so we knew something wasn’t quite right. So I had a scan and unfortunately they told us the worst had happened.

“I felt like we were just getting to the point of the season where things were getting good. It is unfortunate and it hurts but you laugh otherwise you would cry. I will do the rehab and do everything I can to get back as quickly as possible.”

Oldham coach Sean Long, who has guided the side to an electric start in 2025 with the Roughyeds sitting in fourth and set for an 1895 Cup semi-final later this month, spoke on the club’s injury woes and the impact of losing Thornley.

“I’m absolutely gutted for Iain who is a big player for us and one of our leaders on and off the pitch,” Long explained.

“We have had a really bad run with injuries already this year and this one really stings. Luckily Jumah Sambou is now available after suspension so we hope that Jumah can hit the ground running and find the form that he was showing at the start of the season.

“But we will miss Iain massively, of that there is no doubt. We wish him all the very best with his recovery.”

Oldham can confirm that centre Iain Thornley has been ruled out for the season after scans confirmed a complete rupture of the ACL.

— Oldham RLFC (@Roughyeds) May 7, 2025