St Helens will take on Bradford Bulls at Odsal tomorrow in what is a crucial match, given their hopes of staying in the top six.
However, they will make the trip across the M62 without some key players, including star hooker Daryl Clark.
The England international was one of four withdrawals from this week’s 21-man squad, though up to now, there was no clear reason as to why he missed out.
That was until Saints’ assistant boss, Lee Briers, spoke to the press today, confirming the latest on the former Man of Steel.
“He’s got a couple of niggles, Daryl,” said Briers. “He’s been doing it quite tough. He’s been doing up to 80 minutes for long periods of time.
“We’re disappointed that he’s not in this week, but he just couldn’t quite make it. We’ve thought that he’s better getting this little injury he’s had in the last couple of weeks getting sorted now. Hopefully he won’t be off too long.”
The last time Clark missed a game, Saints opted to use the loan market, with Bill Leyland coming in from Hull KR.
Asked if that had the potential to occur again, Briers said: “I’m unsure where that is. It’s above my pay grade to get involved with recruiters.
“We’ve got Tom Humphreys, we’ve got Jake Burns. We’ve got different options to play. At the moment, we’re OK. We’re fully confident in the players we’ve got around us.”
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St Helens issue Mark Percival latest
Also out of the picture for this week is centre Mark Percival, who took a knock in last week’s win over Huddersfield Giants.
The veteran has struggled for fitness this season, and he again faces a stint on the sidelines, Briers has confirmed.
“[It’s a] hamstring injury,” the Saints assistant said. “Initial diagnosis is probably about eight weeks, which is not great for Percy.”
Elsewhere, updates were provided on other members of the back line, with that position in the squad taking a real hit this season.
Briers said:”Deon [Cross] is probably [out for the] season. Lewis [Murphy], probably he’s about four weeks away, I think. Maybe three weeks, four weeks. He’s about five weeks in now off [the back of] an elbow operation.
“He’s actually started doing some training, Lewis, so looking forward to getting him back.”
In a boost though, Jacob Host could make his return to action after the leg break in the March win over Bradford. On his potnetialc comeback, Briers added: “We’ll manage that.
“He’s not under any restrictions, so he’ll probably get his usual minutes out.
“It’s great to have Hosty back. That was a horrible injury. Seeing him in his rehab and his pre-hab, he’s been a joy to coach. He epitomises everything about St Helens.”
