Paul Wellens delivers Moses Mbye injury update after late withdrawal from Leigh Leopards defeat

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens admits he isn’t hopeful of Moses Mbye being available for the first stage of the play-offs having withdrawn from Friday night’s defeat at Leigh Leopards at the eleventh hour.

Mbye, named at hooker in Wellens’ starting side for the Round 27 clash, left the warm-up just a few moments earlier than the rest of his team-mates.

The Australian then didn’t appear on the field at the start of the game, with youngster Jake Burns – who wasn’t even in Wellens’ initial 18-man squad – thrust into the starting hooker role instead.

Early on in the game at the Leopards’ Den, the Sky Sports cameras panned to Mbye sat on the bench, evidently not in his kit, and revealed the news that the Saints ace had pulled his calf in the warm-up, so wouldn’t be involved.

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Paul Wellens delivers Moses Mbye injury update after late withdrawal from Leigh Leopards defeat

Saints went on to lose 18-12 in a dramatic game, meaning they’re virtually nailed on to travel to Warrington Wolves next Saturday (September 28) in a play-off eliminator.

That’s rather than having a home tie against Salford Red Devils, which could have been the case had they won Friday night’s crunch clash at Leigh. Instead, the Leopards themselves will travel to Salford on Friday night (September 27).

Post-match, Red V chief Wellens confirmed Mbye’s pulled calf, revealing just how late in the day the hooker’s withdrawal came, and admitting he fears the worst in terms of the 31-year-old’s availability for the trip to Warrington.

Wellens detailed: “I did my Sky interview and then James Roby grabbed me to tell me that he (Moses) had pulled his calf in the warm-up, so it was probably around seven or eight minutes before kick-off.

“The fact that you can’t play today, with these types of injuries, they never usually recover in quick time.

“We’ll get Moses scanned and get some information in terms of the extent of the injury, and then make a decision off the back of it.”

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