Hull Kingston Rovers’ injury crisis has deepened after they suffered another four injuries against Wigan in their 30-16 defeat at the DW Stadium on Sunday.
The Robins, who are already without several key stars and lost Ben Crooks in the week to a neck injury, ended the game without a bench after a quartet went down with injuries.
Robbie Mulhern, Joe Keyes, Matty Storton and Will Maher all picked up knocks in their spirited defeat to Wigan, their fifth straight reverse.
“It happens,” was Tony Smith’s simple response.
“It’ll go through some other camps at some stage. It’s challenging us at the moment. We had a few back this week, which was good, and hopefully we’ll get another few back next week as well. But young Storton has another ankle issue that needs to be looked at.”
Smith was referring to the tackle that resulted in Storton’s injury, with the young forward going down under a Ben Flower tackle.
“It’s not my job to judge on that. I’m sure the people who do judge on that will have a look at it. From my perspective I’ve just got to make sure the kid is alright and getting the best care, because he’s a good kid and it will be a shame to lose him for a while, if that’s the case.”
Smith admitted that the sheer number of injuries has become a major cause for concern, but he was encouraged by their performance against the in-form Warriors.
“We’re losing them a bit too regularly but I’m very proud of their efforts and the improvement in our defence. Their methods were better and we bent our backs bit more.
“We held our own for large parts of that game and we should get a bit of confidence for holding a team that is top of the table and playing some pretty good Rugby League.
“Mulhern has a bit of a knee issue that we’re going to get checked out. Storton also has an ankle issue we need to get checked. Maher rolled his ankle as well somehow, so that needs to be looked at, and Keyes had a bit of back issue before halftime. And he’s got a sternum and an AC (shoulder) issue, so he has a combination of things. He had some nice kicks and touches.”
