BEN Currie is "a month away" from making his return to the Warrington Wolves first team, head of coaching and rugby Tony Smith says.

The star second rower has not played since suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury in the Super 8s game against Wigan last September.

However, Smith confirmed the 22-year-old was making good progress in his recovery.

"He's getting closer. He's a month away from coming back," he said.

"He's not yet in full training but he is running well and doing everything he needs to do."

Smith also confirmed forward Ben Westwood is three weeks away from returning from the broken hand he picked up in the Magic Weekend draw with the Warriors.

However, the Wire boss says Kevin Brown is likely to miss "a couple" of games with a foot injury.

"With Kev, it depends on how it settles down," Smith said.

"He's tried to manage it and give it the best chance, but we need to rest it now."

Smith also said Matty Russell is not ready to return from a medial knee ligament injury but could be in contention for next week's trip to Wakefield.