George Whitby returned for St Helens last Thursday after a lengthy knee injury but interim coach Eamon O’Carroll has now confirmed that the youngster has suffered an ACL injury on his opposite knee.
In an incredibly cruel twist of fate, Whitby has had his season ended with what is St Helens’ third ACL injury of 2026, with the 20-year-old now looking likely to face nine months on the sidelines, if not longer.
Saints have had horrid luck with injuries all season and nothing highlights that more than Whitby undergoing knee surgery, only to come back and sustain an ACL injury on the opposite knee.
Confirming the devastating news at Thursday’s press conference, interim coach Eamon O’Carroll revealed: “George has done his ACL, so he’ll be out for the year. It’s really disappointing. It’s the opposite knee to the one that he had an issue with so it’s a real shame for George.”
O’Carroll even noted how ‘innocuous’ the injury was, confirming that the 20-year-old had even tried to play on after feeling an initial pop, before physio assessment confirmed he needed to be withdrawn from the action.
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St Helens rally around George Whitby after ACL injury
Many saw 2026 as a true breakout year for Whitby but he’s been limited through injury and it’s now likely that he will miss a significant chunk of 2027, though O’Carroll insisted that the playmaker will be well supported.
“We’ve had a good chat with him and got around him,” he said, adding: “He’s positive although he’s very disappointed but he understands that this is part of the journey and he can certainly use this, although he might not feel like that’s the case, to make him better in the long term.
“I think having people like Jonny Lomax around him as well is a huge positive. Jonny’s been through that three times and gone on and won five competitions I think in total.
“It’s difficult at the moment but what he has got is a number of highly experienced players in and around him who are currently injured at the minute as well.”
O’Carroll was also adamant that such an injury will not define Whitby, whilst also being unable to explain if there was a reason why St Helens had suffered such bad luck with ACLs, previously having lost Jake Wingfield and Owen Dagnall for the year.
He said: “I don’t have the answer, it’s really disappointing just more so because of the timeline of them but what you do see now is people coming back from ACLs a lot better than what they previously did ten years ago.
“Your career is never sort of simple, there’s always them bits of adversity and this is a fairly significant one but he’s probably in the best place for me. I think our medical team are fantastic, our S&C staff and as I’ve mentioned before some of the senior players there around him will get round him and we’ll be up for him.”
