Catalans will intensify their search for new recruits this week following an injury to winger Lewis Tierney sustained during Saturday’s pre-season clash with Toulouse at Carcassonne.
Tierney sustained a suspected fracture of his eye socket and will have medical examinations in Perpignan today (Monday) to establish the extent of the injury.
The Dragons’ 22-10 victory was overshadowed by the loss of Tierney, coming at a time when options among the club’s outside backs are limited following the recent unexpected departure of centre Brayden Wiliame to the NRL.
Coach Steve McNamara admitted that the pressure was now on to find replacements with the new Super League season less than two weeks away.
He told League Express: “It looks like Lewis Tierney has fractured his eye socket which is really disappointing for him and the squad considering the number of outside backs that are not available for us right now but we’ll get him checked out. It’s not looking great.”
Catalans have been linked with a number of prop forwards but their attention may now turn to the flanks with new signing Tom Davies sidelined until at least Round Three of the competition and David Mead and Fouad Yaha both currently unavailable with minor injuries.
Despite the setback, McNamara was pleased with the way his team performed in their only pre-season competitive match, which saw James Maloney make his debut alongside Josh Drinkwater.
McNamara said: “Jimmy put some quality passes together to create tries but it’s his composure that stands out, he keeps people calm around him. When the game was in the balance he just managed to find that field position and rhythm to finish the game off.
“But all our halves did well and they were keen to play the full game. Josh Drinkwater came off with ten minutes to go but Jimmy and Sam Tomkins played the full eighty. It’s a brand new half-back combination so it was important that they spent as much time together today as possible.”
Catalans will face Elite One side Lezignan tomorrow (Tuesday) in an opposed training session at Stade Gilbert Brutus in the 13th week of pre-season preparations for the Dragons.
