Warrington Wolves rest forward duo for Hull FC clash as Zane Musgrove returns

Drew Darbyshire
James Harrison, Jordy Crowther, Zane Musgrove Warrington Wolves Alamy

From left to right: James Harrison, Jordy Crowther and Zane Musgrove of Warrington Wolves

Warrington Wolves coach Sam Burgess has confirmed forward pair James Harrison and Jordy Crowther will be rested for Friday’s game against Hull FC.

Burgess has taken the decision to rest his forward duo, but they will be boosted by the return of Zane Musgrove, who returns from an ankle injury.

The Wire will still be without winger Matty Ashton due to a toe injury that saw him sidelined for last Saturday’s 17-12 defeat at Salford.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of Friday’s game against Hull FC, Burgess said: “There’s a couple of guys out, Jordy Crowther and James Harrison will both have a rest this week, Matty Ashton is still unavailable.

“They’ve both been playing above their weight for the last four or five weeks and doing a good job, they’ve both got a couple of niggles but nothing bad, so we are just giving them a spell (of rest).

“Zane is back this week, he will play. Max Wood will play this week.”

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Sam Burgess on Leon Hayes injury: ‘We’ll do everything we can to get him in the best shape possible’

Warrington are likely to be without half-back Leon Hayes for the remainder of the season after the 20-year-old suffered a fracture dislocation of his ankle in last week’s defeat at Salford.

The 20-year-old will undergo surgery this week before he starts his road to recovery.

“He’s handled it how I expected,” Burgess said with admiration for Hayes. “He’s just got on with it, I’ve been to see him a couple of times. He’s got a beautiful family, his mum is great and his partner Shakira has been great support for him.

“He is not really moving much because he is on one leg so he’ll have a bit of time to think about it. He’s in for surgery this week which is great and it’s the start of his recovery.

“We’ll do everything we can to get him in the best possible shape, we’ll get him around the place as soon as he is up and running.

“He’s just a great bloke and I’ve said it a few times that he is a lovely lad and I really enjoy coaching him.

“Although it’s disappointing, he’ll find something to put his energy into over the next couple of months, especially in his early stages of his rehab. And then once he’s on his feet and up and about a bit more he’ll get into that rehab programme just like he applied himself in pre-season.”

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