WIGAN WARRIORS will be without Bevan French for eight weeks with a calf strain.
The halfback was absent as Wigan ran out 26-20 winners against Castleford Tigers at The Jungle.
The Warriors were second best for the majority of the 80 minutes and only a late flurry of eight points helped Wigan to victory.
After the final whistle, Wigan head coach Matt Peet said: “It was a relief for us to win. I am proud of the group for showing their character to stick together and overcome a tough challenge.
“Castleford played really well but we did some things that put ourselves in stressful situations but we did enough to win.
“I’ve got to understand that we’ve got so much improvement in us and make sure we get it done.
“I thought there were issues with our general management of the game and keeping the pressure on the opposition with having lapses in discipline.
“I don’t want to take away what Castleford threw at us physically and their attacking shapes.”
Peet also revealed why Liam Marshall didn’t play and Jake Wardle’s issue: “Liam Marshall banged his ankle last Friday. There was no structural damage but it was swollen.
“We thought he would recover all week. He wasn’t as free as he needed to be so we didn’t want to take the risk or damage something long-term.
“Jake found himself in a strange position in that tackle. We will have a look at that.”
And on French, he said: ”It’s a shame for Bev no doubt, he’s one of the outstanding players in the competition.
”But he’s focused pretty quickly and it’s a great opportunity for Jack (Farrimond) to train and play knowing he is going to get a run of games.”