THERE could be as many as three players returning to the Warrington Wolves side at Hull FC on Saturday – but some players have better chances than others.
Head coach Sam Burgess named prop Joe Philbin and outside-back Josh Thewlis in his 21-man squad for Round 25, with both having been absent through foot and hamstring injuries respectively – Philbin has missed the last three games while Thewlis sat out Sunday’s win over Huddersfield Giants.
Of the two, Burgess said Philbin was the most likely to return, with Thewlis still requiring further assessment.
The same also goes for half-back Ewan Irwin, who missed the Huddersfield win through an injury picked up during an incident in last week’s win at Hull KR which saw Robins counterpart Mikey Lewis sin-binned and subsequently banned.
The teenager is running again but remains a doubt for the trip to the MKM Stadium.
“He's in with an outside chance,” Burgess said of Irwin.
“He's moving a little bit better, but he's not 100% yet. He ran today for the first time so we'll see.”
On Philbin and Thewlis, he added: “They should be available.
“With Josh, we'll know a bit more tomorrow, but Philbs should be good to go.
“Philbs has been in great form and his consistency has been very good, so it's great to have him back in the group.
“He was close enough last week, but he should be good to go come Saturday.”
Thewlis and Philbin’s returns are the only two alterations to Warrington’s 21, with Cai Taylor-Wray and Kelepi Tanginoa dropped out.
Burgess outlined after the Huddersfield game that Taylor-Wray was still having complications in fully recovering from ankle surgery while he also declared Tanginoa’s absence was nothing of any concern as he manages a niggling knee injury.
“It's just management for Kelepi, so that we get the best out of him at the back end,” he said.
“He's been good for the last couple of weeks, so it's just management.”
And Warrington’s squad looks set to be boosted even further imminently by the return of Luke Yates, who has not played since May having undergone neck surgery.
Burgess outlined that only a final check – similar to the one skipper George Williams had to satisfy – is preventing him from making a return.
“From the naked eye, he looks ready to play to me and he has for a couple of weeks,” he said.
“But medically, they have to do all of their checks and he's got a final check tomorrow with a final appointment, so we should know a little bit more for next week. He's itching to play.”
Aside from the potential returns of Philbin, Thewlis and Irwin, there is scope for further change to the matchday 17 should Burgess opt to do so with the likes of Adam Holroyd and Luke Thomas available to step in.
There is, however, no place in the squad for Josh Smith, who has not featured since the Round 19 win at Castleford Tigers.
And the Wire boss insists all of them are ready to play – and that could well be for the Reserves this weekend in their play-off semi-final against Leeds Rhinos at Victoria Park on Sunday.
“It’s tough because they’ve all contributed this year in some capacity,” he said.
“They all want to be part of the team, but this is the hard part of having a healthy squad. Essentially, some guys are going to miss out but they’re all ready.
“We’ve got a Reserves game on Sunday and the ones that don’t play on Saturday will all drop back and play in that.
“It’s good to keep them match-fit at this time of year because inevitably, something will happen over the next month or two.”
When asked specifically about Smith’s absence, Burgess replied: “Arron Lindop has come back in, and he’s done a good job.
“Josh, at the time, we felt he might have been getting to that point of being a little bit tired.
“But he’s not played for a month or so now, so it’s not a case of that now because we’re healthy.
“Arron is doing a great job at right centre, and so is Albert Hopoate on the right wing. Toby King and Matty Ashton are on the left edge.
“It’s just opportunity at the moment for him. Lachlan Webster holds his own at full-back when we need it. He just has to stay ready for his opportunity again now.
“I dare say he played 24 games straight or something like that.
“He’s on the rebound of that now, he’s ready and itching to play again now. He’s good to go, it’s just selection now.”
Share