ST HELENS are anticipating the imminent return of star man Jack Welsby – but Lewis Murphy is set for longer on the sidelines.
Both players suffered injuries in Saints’ defeat to Hull KR at the end of May, Welsby to a knee and Murphy his quad.
England fullback Welsby was initially given a timescale of 16 weeks for his return while winger Murphy, who has been limited to nine appearances since joining from Sydney Roosters ahead of this season, was expected to be out for approximately eight.
However, Welsby is now due to be back sooner having cut that recovery time down significantly, whereas the club are yet to get to the bottom of unspecified issues with Murphy’s rehabilitation.
“Jack Welsby is making some great improvements,” said Saints coach Paul Wellens.
“He’s ahead of schedule. There’s a few things he needs to tick off but in the coming weeks he’ll be in contention so that’s a huge boost.
“The initial prognosis was a worst-case scenario of 16 weeks, but after seeing the specialist three or four weeks into his rehabilitation, that got stripped back to ten, so that was very encouraging straight from the off.
“We’ve got that ten-week figure in mind, however if Jack makes the progress he continues to make that could potentially be a little bit sooner. But given his importance to us, we won’t make any rash decisions there.
“We’re unsure with Lewis. It’s a shame for the kid really, he seems to take two steps forward and one step back.
“I can’t give you a specific timeframe as there’s a few things we need to get checked out.”
Deon Cross is closing in on a return, with next Friday’s trip to Wakefield Trinity a possibility.
Saints also have some key figures back for the visit of Castleford Tigers this Friday with Joe Batchelor, Daryl Clark and Jake Burns in the squad, and James Bell ready for a first-team return.