Widnes suffer double injury blow

Widnes skipper Jack Owens has been ruled out for two months, while stand-off Danny Craven has suffered a setback in his injury return.

Owens, 27, has only made two appearances since returning from injury but will now undergo knee surgery to help him overcome the problem.

Stand-off Craven was injured in the Vikings’ 9-8 win at Halifax, though he stayed on to complete the game.

He had been hoping to return before the end of April, but has suffered a setback and is expected to be out for another six weeks.

The club said on their official website that a scan showed a further tear in his calf.

More injury worries

Prop Tyler Dupree, who was last week linked with a move to Salford, is sidelined with a hamstring problem.

Loose forward Aaron Brown will miss the Good Friday game with Leigh due to a broken toe.

Both Dupree and winger Ollie Brookes are aiming to return for the game against Featherstone on May 1.

Meanwhile, centre Jake Spedding suffered an ankle injury in the 12-6 defeat at Newcastle last Monday.

It was the former St Helens youngster’s first appearance of the season.

He will be scanned in the coming weeks to determine how long he will be out of action.

Forwards Shane Grady and Levy Nzoungou have also been missing through injury.

Widnes have lost their last four games having started the season with four victories.

Last week they signed Wigan prop Ramon Silva on a two-week loan deal.

For their game at Newcastle, Salford forwards Danny Addy and Jack Wells featured.

Jack Owens started only his second game of the season having returned for the defeat against York.

They welcome high-flying Leigh to the DCBL Stadium on Friday.

It was the Centurions that ended Widnes’ winning start to the season with a 38-4 win against them in the Challenge Cup at the end of February.

RECAP: Newcastle 12-6 Widnes: Thunder claim close win over Vikings on Monday night rugby league