Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane has revealed he is not sure if club captain Sean O’Loughlin will be available to captain England in this year’s Four Nations: saying he has to think about the Warriors as a priority.
O’Loughlin has missed Wigan’s last four games due to injury, and will again be absent this weekend as the Warriors travel to Warrington on Friday night.
Wigan are hopeful he will return before the play-offs in time for next week’s clash against Catalans, but Wane has warned that even then, O’Loughlin may not be available.
He wants to hold talks with rugby director Kris Radlinski, chairman Ian Lenagan and the player himself before a joint decision is made on whether O’Loughlin is free to captain England in this year’s Four Nations.
“We’ll have a chat with him in the next week or so, about how we take it forward,” Wane told Wigan Today.
“That’s a joint decision between Ian, Kris, myself, and Sean. “I love the international game but the most important thing for me is this club.”
If O’Loughlin is unavailable, new coach Wayne Bennett would have to find a new captain after admitting in his introductory press conference this year that the 33-year-old would continue in the role as skipper.
