WIGAN Warriors could welcome back Bevan French, Liam Marshall and Noah Hodkinson against St Helens – but Junior Nsemba has suffered a setback.
The second-rower, who pulled up during Wigan’s thrilling Magic Weekend win over St Helens, was initially expected to return at the beginning of August.
However, he now faces another month on the sidelines.
“Junior has had a setback so it will be a while for him,” said head coach Matt Peet. “It will be around another five weeks from now.
“We rescanned it and it’s not where it needed to be so it’s disappointing.”
Alongside Wigan, St Helens, Huddersfield Giants and Bradford Bulls have also been badly affected by injuries over recent weeks.
“Every club is going through it but it doesn’t make it any easier when it happens,” the head coach admitted.
“It’s a news story but these lads commit so much – and I’m not just talking about Junior.
“Whenever you see a lad get injured it’s disappointing because we want to see the talent on the field.
“The competition is about durability and timing of things and how you can keep the train on the tracks through those periods.”
However, there is better news regarding Marshall, French (both hamstring) and Hodkinson (fractured skull), who are set to provide a boost for the derby clash.
“We’ve got a few sessions to knock over yet,” Peet explained. “But hopefully they’ll be in contention.”
Ahead of the clash against fierce rivals Saints on Friday, Peet has talked up the competition between the two clubs.
“I just think it never fails to deliver as long as I can remember.
“We are two passionate clubs. There’s a locality that makes it a rivalry but also the fact that we’ve contested so many great games together.”