St Helens halfback Lewis Dodd has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury.
Dodd was forced off late in the Good Friday win over Wigan Warriors, and the extent of the 20-year-old’s injury was revealed by head coach Kristian Woolf following Saints’ victory at Huddersfield Giants.
“Lewis Dodd is unfortunately going to be out for the rest of season, he’s got a significant Achilles injury,” said Woolf.
“It’s a real blow for him, a devastating blow.
“He was a big part of our success last year and the start of this year. In my eyes he’s been the form halfback of the competition this year.
“It’s bad luck for us as well, it’s the second year in a row we’ve lost our number seven.”
James Roby filled in at halfback against Huddersfield but Woolf said he would weight up other options to replace Dodd, including Jack Welsby with Will Hopoate potentially moving to fullback.
However, he confirmed they would not be signing any replacement.
“We won’t be going to the market, we’ll fill that from within,” he said. “Roby has a chance there, I thought he was great today.
“We’ve got Will Hopoate who comes back in a week or so, he’s an international fullback and won games against Australia as a fullback for Tonga.
“He’s played over 150 games in the NRL as fullback as well so he’s an option there for us as well. We’ll figure that out in due course.”
