MATT PEET has given good news on Zach Eckersley after the Wigan Warriors outside back was stretched off during his side’s 36-28 win over Leigh Leopards last Friday.
Play was stopped as medical staff from both clubs took Eckersley off the field and he subsequently went to hospital.
However, coach Peet has confirmed that the youngster is well and could even play against Catalans Dragons this Saturday.
“He is alright, he has trained today and we will assess him later in the week,” Peet said.
“We won’t take any risks. I think he said at the game that it was a little bit of an overreaction. He was saying what he was feeling in his neck, the medical team have to do the right thing.
“Everyone respects the process.”
Ethan Havard, however, could return for Wigan after a serious hamstring injury suffered in pre-season.
“Ethan is in the squad, he looks in good shape so we will see,” said Peet.
“We have erred on the side of caution, we haven’t brought any stages further forward when we could have.”
Peet does believe his side need to improve in conceding a raft of points in a small amount of time after taking a healthy lead.
“I don’t believe it’s a coincidence, it’s a pattern and it’s our job to explore why it has happened, learn from it and see where the improvement is,” he said.
“We need to adjust what the habit is to change the pattern. That’s the fun part of the job, if every game was the same and you suddenly cracked it then there’d be nothing to worry about and you’d get complacent.
“We’ve got so much to improve on which I think is the exciting part of it. There is determination to improve that.”
Wigan go up against Catalans this weekend, with Peet giving boss Steve McNamara, who has been linked with an exit, great praise.
He said: “I want to be mindful over how I word this. I’ve got a massive amount of respect for Steve, the job he’s done at England and the job he’s doing at Catalans.
“What I hear about him as a man and how he’s always been with me, he’s always been very open and supportive.
“I don’t want to speak about it too much but hopefully I will see him on Saturday.”
