MATT PEET admits Jake Wardle could return to play his part for Wigan Warriors in the play-offs.
The centre missed Saturday’s League Leaders’ Shield showdown against Leeds Rhinos after suffering a calf injury in training, with his intended replacement George O’Loughlin then pulling up with a quad injury.
That forced another reshuffle in Wigan’s backs, with Zach Eckersley moving to centre and Austin Daniel onto the wing, with both catching the eye in the outstanding 40-8 win.
“(His return) would potentially come in the semi-final, if not the Grand Final,” said Peet of Wardle, who passed 100 appearances in the club’s colours earlier this season.
“George has pulled his quad, he’ll not play again this year.”
There could also be a final bow for club captain Liam Farrell, who has not featured since June due to a shoulder injury and will retire at the end of the season to take up a role in the club’s strength and conditioning department.
“It’s to be confirmed this week, but my hope is that he’ll feature again this season,” the head coach explained.
The victory at Leeds saw backrower Junior Nsemba come off the bench in the first half to make his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury sustained in the Magic Weekend win over St Helens at the beginning of July.
“He was fit enough to start last week,” revealed Peet, who hailed the forward’s impact from the interchanges.
“I wasn’t given guidelines by the physios (about managing his minutes), it wasn’t one of them.
“I just thought Kian (McDermott) was doing well and it would give Junior more chance of playing a high standard knowing he wasn’t playing the full 80. He’s good to go.
“He was very good, he got the basics of his game right. I was really pleased, he brought something to the game, for sure.”