Warrington Wolves confirm major injury blow with star man set for lengthy lay-off

Ben Olawumi
Matt Dufty Warrington Wolves Alamy

Matt Dufty in action for Warrington Wolves in 2024

Warrington Wolves have confirmed full-back Matt Dufty will be sidelined for up to six weeks having required surgery on a knee injury sustained at Magic Weekend.

Dufty scored a second half hat-trick against Leeds Rhinos at Elland Road last Saturday night, with Sam Burgess’ side picking up a 24-6 win which saw them remain two competition points behind the top two – Wigan Warriors and Hull KR – on the Super League ladder.

But in the first half of that Round 22 clash, the Australian ace suffered a knock to his knee which left him in pain throughout the remainder of the game, struggling to weight bear.

Post-match, boss Burgess admitted that they had been set to bring him off early on in the second half, only for a break in play to allow the club’s medical team to provide him with some treatment which saw him through the remainder of the 80 minutes.

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Warrington Wolves confirm major injury blow with star man set for lengthy lay-off

Burgess confirmed post-match that the full-back would be assessed this week ahead of their trip to Castleford Tigers, with Dufty not named in the 21-man squad for the trip to The Jungle.

And the Wolves have taken to social media to confirm it’ll be a lengthy lay-off for the 28-year-old, who has had to go under the knife to fix the issue sustained against the Rhinos last time out.

On their X account (@WarringtonRLFC), the club wrote: “Matt Dufty underwent surgery yesterday on the knee injury sustained at Magic Weekend.

“Our full-back will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks. Speedy recovery, Matt 💪”

There are just five weeks of the regular season remaining, with a distinct reality that Dufty may now not play again until the semi-finals come around, providing Warrington are involved at that stage.

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