St Helens suffer huge blow as star faces four months out

St Helens completed a narrow win over Huddersfield Giants, winning 13-12 at the Totally Wicked Stadium with the Saints coming out on top late on after a tense affair. Jonny Lomax scored the match-winning drop goal in the last minute to seal the victory.

However, Saints have suffered a major blow off the field. Head Coach, Paul Wellens, has confirmed that one of their most influential players faces a significant spell on the sidelines.

St Helens man suffers serious injury

Alex Walmsley suffered an injury during Saints’ Challenge Cup defeat against Warrington Wolves. It appeared that Walmsley had injured his hamstring. But further tests have revealed Walmsley has also injured his knee, which may require surgery.

Speaking live on Sky Sports post-match, Wellens explained: “The hamstring injury is a 6-8 week one, but I think it’s looking like Al may require knee surgery as well off the back of that which”, Wellens said.

“If that’s the case, it’s going to keep him out for probably double that period.”

This is a significant blow to Saints’ hopes of winning the Super League crown back from arch-rivals, Wigan Warriors.

Challenge for Saints to adapt

Walmsley also missed a significant part of the 2023 season. A medial cruciate ligament injury prematurely ended his season in July. Wellens believes that Saints now face a challenge to adapt to life without Walmsley again.

“It’s a disappointing one if that’s the route that we go down but the challenge for us as a group is to do what we did last year when we were without Big Al for a prolonged period. So that’s what we’ll try and do.”

Walmsley recently put pen to paper on a new contract, to extend his stay on Merseyside until the end of the 2026. He made his Saints debut in 2013 and has made 278 appearances for the club. He has won five Super League titles, four League Leaders’ Shields, the Challenge Cup, and the World Club Challenge.

Following the announcement of his new deal, 34-year-old Walmsley spoke of his excitement for the future at St Helens.

“Fourteen years at Saints is a long time and I’ve had some fantastic times over those over the years so far, and I am sure there’s going to be some great times still to come.”