Sam Burgess has revealed that Matt Dufty could feature for Warrington Wolves as early as this weekend after making swift recovery progress. The Wolves, who will have aspirations of finishing inside the Super League’s top two, take on Huddersfield Giants on Saturday in what is their penultimate fixture of the regular season.
As they look to build momentum heading into the play-offs, it’s a game Burgess will expect to see progress in and his side could be boosted by the return of Dufty. The full-back has been sidelined with a knee injury since the club’s win over Leeds Rhinos at Magic Weekend, meaning he has missed some pivotal fixtures in Warrington’s season.
However, the Australian has recovered quickly and as Burgess prepares to name his squad for this weekend’s game, he’ll be checking on Dufty’s status.
“We want to get some momentum going with him but won’t push him, but he’s doing really well,” Burgess said, per the Warrington Guardian ahead of the weekend’s fixture. “We’re happy with his progress. He could play this weekend – he’s very close.”
Burgess was also able to confirm that James Harrison and Stefan Ratchford were close to making a return to action, too, with the former set to be named in the Wire squad on Thursday lunchtime.
Lachlan Fitzgibbon won’t be involved this weekend with the forward serving a one-match suspension. However, even if he was able to play, it seems he would be rated a doubt after hurting the shoulder that he has spent much of the season out with.
“It’s the same shoulder, he’s got a few issues with it so we’ll get another opinion on that to see what we can do,” Burgess added.
International Rugby League
Shaun Wane delivers Samoa squad verdict ahead of final England squad announcement
