Warrington Wolves have confirmed the news that prop Luke Thomas has ruptured his ACL during the weekend’s victory over Hull FC.
Thomas, who has already done an ACL previously in his career, is the latest Wire player to have suffered the lengthy blow, joining the likes of Arron Lindop, Matty Ashton and the now-departed Oli Leyland in the past couple of seasons.
The 23-year-old, who has impressed enough to warrant a run of 10 games in a row, nine of those were as starting prop earlier this season, is now expected to miss the majority, if not all of pre-season, and depending on rehab could miss the beginning of next year too.
Thomas left the field in some pain during the win over the Black and Whites, and joined fellow prop Joe Philbin in the treatment room moments later, with the pair being injured in the same set of six.
Warrington have confirmed the news on social media, but boss Sam Burgess has also spoken to the media to offer more insight into the current injury situation.
Per All Out Rugby League, the Wire coach said: “Unfortunately, Luke Thomas has ruptured his ACL. That’s very unfortunate. It’s on his other leg as well. We’ll deal with that.
“It’s the worst bit of news to get as a player. He’s a great lad and very resilient.
“He’s not complaining too much, he’ll have to get on with it. Over the next few months, there might be a couple of days where he’s a bit frustrated. But he’s been here before, and he’ll be alright.”
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Providing the latest on Joe Philbin, Burgess added: “Joe has reaggravated that niggle that he had, aiming for week one of finals.
Jordy Crowther has fractured his collarbone, however the head coach is quietly optimistic that the ex-Wakefield man can return at some stage this year.
Aussie pair Josh Smith and Luke Yates could be set for a return to the side, with Smith the more likely of the two to feature. The centre is expected to be a straight swap for Arron Lindop, who left the MKM Stadium with a failed HIA.
Yates is likely to come off the bench, with Burgess praising the forward’s leadership and experience, something Wire will be able to call upon when he returns to the field for the first time since May.
Cai Taylor-Wray is named in the 21-man squad, but he will not play a part, with Burgess revealing he was only named as a last resort.
“He’s not quite there,” the boss explained. “I put him in the 21-man squad just if anything went wrong, I could have used him.
“Hopefully we’ll see him next week. He’s just ticking along, he didn’t play in the reserves, we felt he needed time off feet and working hard in rehab.”
