OFTEN it can be spoken of a team having an injury crisis, but has Super League in its entirity currently got one?

It certainly looks like it when an eye is cast across the 12 clubs and the numbers of players sidelined.

From what I hear, there are also many players taking to the field with injuries to the point that some clubs could not field a team at the moment if it was not for pain-killing injections.

Warrington Wolves, although they don’t make a song and dance about it, have had more than their fair share of injury issues already this season with Stefan Ratchford, Matty Russell, Rhys Evans, Chris Bridge, Ryan Atkins, Gary Wheeler, Richie Myler, Ben Harrison, Simon Grix, Anthony England and Ben Evans having sat out for various periods.

And last Saturday’s opponents Wakefield were described by Tony Smith, after being thumped 80-0, as being down to the bare bones, with 10 players unavailable.

Manufacturers of treatment tables might be happy, but this surely has to be a concern for the decision-makers in the game.

Has all the scientific conditioning taken players’ bodies to the levels of extreme that they cannot withstand the increasing rigours of an explosive sport that prides itself on physicality and big collisions as well as the skill factor?

Although limits are being pushed – and this is a major attraction to the game for the players – opinion among the coaches is that it is the lack of recovery time causing the problems and that makes sense to me.

Putting tired bodies through the mill, compounding injuries on top of the niggles that most players carry into games, is going to have a negative impact.

At worst, a serious injury; at best, a player achieving only a percentage of his potential on the field.

An extra day or two between matches – and even a week off in a squad rotation system – can make a world of difference to an individual’s capacity to benefit the team and the quality of the product overall.

But we have planners and broadcasters calling the shots on fixtures taking place any day between Thursday and Sunday, dishing out short turnarounds to teams one week, maybe a longer one if you’re lucky the week after.

This year’s new format has actually added to the burden over the season with at least one extra match for each team, and there is a continuing insistence that the two added games over Easter is a good thing.

Every minute matters, they say.

Sounds to me like money does, not so sure about the players and fans quite as much.