Salford injury concern as Joe Burgess forced from the field

Salford winger Joe Burgess was forced from the field in their 26-16 defeat to Huddersfield on Sunday afternoon due to injury.

The 28-year-old left the field in the latter stages of the first half with what looked like a rib injury.

It comes as a blow to Salford and Burgess, who was making his fourth appearance of the season.

Speaking after the game, Salford coach Paul Rowley told Love Rugby League: “He actually did about 15 or 20 minutes carrying it hoping he could get through it but to bring him off two minutes before half-time suggests he was a goner at that point.

“I think we will wait and see how he pulls up in the morning in regards to next week.”

Andrew Dixon comes on for Joe Burgess to make second Salford debut

Andrew Dixon joined returned to the Red Devils in the off-season on a two-year deal following Toulouse’s relegation from Super League last season.

The 33-year-old forward, who played 37 games for Salford between 2013-14, made his second debut for the Red Devils on Sunday as he replaced Burgess.

Rowley said: “I thought Dicko was great, he had a really good game. It was really pleasing for him to get his second debut.

“Dicko coming on in the back-row meant (Sam) Stone to centre and Cozzy (Matty Costello) to winger, that’s the difference. But I thought they all had a good dig.

“Maybe one or two things where we fell down in terms of losing our roll in defence probably just caught us in the end but overall, I thought it was a good game.”

Another player making his first appearance of the season for Salford was Ben Hellewell. The Scotland international joined the Red Devils in the off-season from Championship club Featherstone, making his loan deal permanent.

Rowley added: “Benny Hellewell got short minutes but that’s the way it has to be. Ideally, he would have got two or three games on loan or dual-registration but he’s a character who gives everything to the cause and never lets anyone down so it was really pleasing for him.”

Rowley says they don’t expect to have anyone back from the treatment room for next Saturday’s derby clash with Leigh.

Paul Rowley: I thought it was a really good game

The Red Devils boss had no complaints from their defeat to Huddersfield, adding that it was a really enjoyable game to watch.

He said: “I thought it was a really good game. We were prepared to bend our back in defence and we were completing at more than 90 per cent until the last 10 minutes.

“We were never boring with the ball but we were completing high. I think we were disciplined all around, I thought the referee had a good game and contributed to both teams being allowed to play good rugby.

“There was a decent amount of grind in our team which is a good marker of where we’ve come from last year.

“When you look at the differences, we put a ball on the floor and they picked up the scraps to score the first try.

“Losing Will Pryce and having the ability to bring Tui (Lolohea) on is probably a stark reminder of the differences of resource of the two clubs.

“Whilst we are never happy losing from a coaching point of view, I thought there was a lot to be positive about moving forward.”

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