Adrian: Players are Lams to slaughter
RESERVES:
RESERVES:
WIGAN coach Adrian Lam fears the injury worries he’s had since lockdown might be coming true.
Warriors winger Liam Marshall will discover today how long he faces on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury in the 30-22 win over Castleford.
Wigan’s best hope is a month’s lay-off but it could be much worse, prompting Lam to say: “I have been afraid of it happening. It is not good.
“Hopefully it is on the better side of the injury as opposed to the worst but we have our fears there.”
NRL clubs came out of lockdown a few weeks ahead of Super League, with Aussie clubs already reporting numerous injuries they might not normally expect.
But Lam (inset) insists he’s not surprised because of the demands that have been put on players as a result of Covid-19.
He said: “I am not a scientist or a physician but there is evidence in the NRL of a lot of soft tissue and knee injuries. They’re higher than in the past.
“It’s difficult to have
■ four or five months off and then have two weeks, and a third week going into competition, to prepare for one of the most physical, toughest and aggressive sports in the world.
“It might not be related in any way. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it was linked to the break and the lack of time in preparation.” Wigan prop Tony Clubb is likely to miss the rest of the season with a vertebrae injury in his neck.
And Warriors’ Morgan Smithies has been banned for two games for head-butting and could also cop a threeto-five game ban for a separate dangerous tackle against Castleford, when he appears before a tribunal today.