SAM Burgess has delivered the latest Warrington Wolves injury news - and it includes a devastating blow for one of his players.
Prop Luke Thomas was among three players struck by injury during Saturday's win at Hull FC, limping off moments after replacing Joe Philbin, who himself had been forced off.
And now, Burgess has confirmed Thomas has suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) for the second time in his career, although his first was on the opposite leg.
As such, he will not only miss the remainder of 2026 but also a good chunk of next season, too.
Burgess also delivered the latest on fellow prop Philbin and half-back Ewan Irwin, the latter of whom has not played since suffering a foot injury during the incident that saw Hull KR's Mikey Lewis sin-binned during Warrington's win at Craven Park on August 18.
Having been initially cleared of any serious issues, further tests have now revealed a small fracture but the Wire boss is adamant that both he and Philbin would return for their side's first play-off tie.
“Unfortunately, Luke Thomas has ruptured his ACL. That’s very unfortunate," he said.
"It’s on his other leg as well. We’ll deal with that.
"It’s the worst bit of news to get as a player. He’s a great lad and very resilient.
"He’s not complaining too much, he’ll have to get on with it. Over the next few months, there might be a couple of days where he’s a bit frustrated but he’s been here before and he’ll be alright."
"Joe has reaggravated that niggle that he had, he's aiming for week one of finals.
"Ewan’s plan is week one of finals - it hasn't been as straightforward as we thought. He’s fractured his foot.
"If he's fit, he plays. But he's not fit.
"We didn't initially pick it (the fracture) up. He's going to be back for week one of finals, that's the plan.
"Jordy Crowther has a shoulder injury on his collarbone. A slight fracture in there as well - I think he might have done that the week before.
"He’s pretty tough, Jordy, so it’s a bit of a week-to-week management with Jordy."
Burgess was able to confirm how some of his team would look for the game at Wakefield Trinity tomorrow, and that it will include Luke Yates.
The prop has been missing since May after suffering a serious neck injury that had looked set to end his season early, but he has returned well in advance of the play-offs.
"He won’t start the game, we’ll ease him back in," Burgess said of Yates, confirming he would start the game on the bench.
"He’s a really valuable part of the team. Like George (Williams), with his leadership and stuff, Yatesy is equally as important.
"Not having him on the field for a number of weeks, you can feel that. It’s nice having him back, you can notice that he’s back on the team.
"It might take him two or three weeks before we see him get anywhere near, but it’s back to having him back available for selection."
The team will also include Josh Smith, who will replace Arron Lindop at centre with the academy graduate ruled out under concussion protocol, but it will not include Cai Taylor-Wray once again.
However, Burgess did express hope of seeing the full-back return against Toulouse Olympique in next week's final regular-season game.
"Certainly Josh Smith, he’ll come in for Arron Lindop in a straight swap," he said.
"He’s been ready to play for a while, and he had a good dig in the reserves semi-finals on the weekend. That’ll be good to see him back in the team.
"Cai is not playing. He’s not quite there.
"I put him in the 21-man squad just really if anything went wrong, I could have used him. Hopefully we’ll see him next week.
"He’s just ticking along, he didn’t play in the reserves, we felt he needed time off feet and working hard in rehab."
Burgess also did not rule out the possibility of young prop Charlie McKler making his first-team debut at Wakefield having starred for the Reserves in their run to the Grand Final.
But whether or not he plays at the DIY Kitchens Stadium, Burgess insisted he would make his first-team bow before the end of the year.
"He’s a possibility," he said.
"If he doesn’t play this week, he’ll play the following week.
"Everyone is desperate to see him play first-team, me included.
"I know he’s ready to play and when he does, he’ll be ready to go."
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