Wigan Warriors Adrian Lam paid an emotional tribute to the retiring George Burgess after the win over Castleford Tigers, while revealing that captain Tommy Leuluai could be out of action for up to three weeks.
Burgess, who was forced to retire from the game at the beginning of February due to a chronic hip problem, went down to London on Friday to have the operation that could give him a better quality of life.
Before that he was on hand to watch his former team-mates extend their unbeaten start top the Super League season with a 22-12 win over Castleford Tigers.
After the game, Burgess took to the DW Stadium turf to hug his old team-mates and thank them for their support during his brief time with the club.
An emotional Lam told reporters after the game: “At the end of the game, that was George Burgess on the field. He is going in for an operation, so the whole club wanted to go out there and wish him all the best on the field.
“It was our team saying goodbye mate, we love you and we are going to miss you. Wishing him good luck and we hope to see him again soon. It was a nice gesture from the group to one of their favourite men.
“George is loved by everyone here, he is such a great guy, and we have all learned a lot from him. We are all concerned for him and we want to send him all our best wishes.”
Leuluai missed the victory over the Tigers with Harry Smith stepping into his shoes, and when asked about the seriousness of Leuluai’s injury, Lam added: “It will be two or three weeks that. Hopefully, he will be alright in a couple of weeks, he has got a bit of an issue with his sternum. We just have to manage that process.”
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