Wakefield head coach Chris Chester has confirmed that Ben Jones-Bishop did not break his jaw in their defeat to Huddersfield on Friday.
Chester expressed fears following Trinity’s defeat that the winger was set for a long spell on the sidelines following a tackle from Huddersfield forward Ukuma Ta’ai, which also broke the 28-year-old’s nose.
However, other than several misplaced teeth, the former Leeds and Salford man has not suffered any further damage, with Chester now hopeful that he will be out for weeks rather than months.
Despite good news on the injury front, Chester admitted he still felt frustrated at the lack of action enforced on Ta’ai in the game, which similarly happened in their opening game of the season with Hull FC when Albert Kelly’s high tackle on Matty Ashurst went unpunished, only for the halfback to receive a suspension afterwards.
“We didn’t benefit from it on the night, but when Hull FC play Huddersfield they will benefit from it rather than us,” he told TotalRL.
“We just feel a bit disappointed. I am pretty certain the Huddersfield player will get a charge, and it would be twice in two weeks something will happen after the game with us after Albert Kelly. I think the referees are getting a lot better at giving the punishments out on the field, but we just want to see some consistency with it, that’s my issue I have with it all.”
On the tackle, Chester added: “For me, it’s foul play, his shoulder made contact with the head and obviously we’ve lost Ben Jones-Bishop with a badly broken nose and some displaced teeth as well. We’re fortunate that there’s no fracture to the cheekbone or the eye-socket which was originally feared.
“He’s got to see a dentist. He’s got a lot of loose teeth at the minute, so he needs to get them checked out. But the kid wants to play, he’s playing some good football and scored a really nice try as well. It’s unfortunate for Bish.”