ROPER SETBACK (From Warrington Guardian)

ROPER SETBACK

WARRINGTON Wolves star Jonathan Roper has had a setback on his comeback trail.

The centre or stand off has not trained for three weeks due to a severe chest infection that he has not been able to shake off.

Coach Darryl Van de Velde said this week: "Jon has not been able to train. The infection has left him with difficulties breathing. It looks as if he will need to be referred to a specialist."

Andy Goodway had this week announced Roper to be part of his Great Britain squad for the World Nines tournament in South Africa next month, which has since been cancelled due to lack of television coverage.

Roper was a revelation in the early part of last season. He switched from centre to stand off when an injury crisis left the team with little half-back cover.

It was a sensational move with the Wolves only losing one of the six games in which Roper played at No.6.

Then disaster struck as Roper broke and dislocated an ankle in the 18-18 home draw with Sheffield Eagles on June 14. He has not played since and is unlikely to be 100 per cent fit when the season starts with the Challenge Cup on February 13/14.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.