'Out for four weeks': new blow for Wakefield Trinity ahead of Warrington Wolves Super League showdown

Lyne and fellow centre Samisoni Langi will both miss Friday’s trip to Warrington Wolves, but former Man of Steel Luke Gale could make his debut after signing from Keighley Cougars this week.

“Reece has got a calf strain, I think it’ll be about four weeks,” coach Mark Applegarth revealed.

“Soni picked up a bit of a bump after the international game last weekend [when he played for France against England] .

“All being well, he will be in contention for next week. This game probably came a bit too soon for him.”

The coach, though, insisted: “We have got a few centre options and you’ll have to wait and see on Friday what we go with.

“We are getting a couple of bodies back as well, so - as it has been all year - it’s next man up and we soldier on.”

Utility-back Lee Gaskell and forward Kelepi Tanginoa are among the players who could return from injury this week.

“Kelepi, at a push, probably could have played in the Wigan game two weeks ago,” Applegarth said.

“We just batted smart and got another couple of weeks’ training into him. He has trained really well and he’ll be back and so will Lee Gaskell.

“We played him in a really competitive reserve game against Wigan last week just to test his pectoral muscle out and he got through that fine.”

On loan duo Sam Hewitt (Huddersfield Giants) and Rowan Milnes (Hull KR) have returned to their parent clubs since the Wigan game, but other players in contention for a call-up are Liam Hood, Will Dagger, Rob Butler, Jordan Crowther, Morgan Smith and former Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers half-back Gale.

“I’m not sure if he’ll play on Friday,” Applegarth said of the new signing. “We’ve got to bat smart with him.

“He’s not the Luke Gale of 2017, he’s into his 30s now and transferring from a part-time into a full-time environment, we are very conscious we don’t want to rush him.

“We might play him on Friday or save him until next week so we can get a full week to 10 days’ training into him.”

But the coach added: “He has been great, not just what he can do on the field in terms of his organisation and leadership.

“In team meetings he has been helping some of the younger end of the squad and it’s like having another coach on the field.

“Getting a scrum-half who can play at this level, with runs on the board, is crucial in our current situation.

Ten straight defeats have left Trinity four points adrift at the foot of Betfred Super League.

Hosts Warrington are looking to bounce back from successive losses which have seen them slip to second in the table and Applegarth said: “We are expecting a really tough challenge, but we’ve taken confidence from some things we did against Wigan.

“We just need to start converting that into points. I can’t question anybody’s spirit; we need to fix some things up individually and be a bit more respectful of the ball, but we are going in full of positives and we’re going to take it to Warrington.”

Warrington Wolves: from Ashton, Bullock, Clark, Currie, Drinkwater, Dufty, Green, Harrison, Kasiano, Mata’utia, McGuire, Minikin, Nicholson, Philbin, Ratchford, Russell, Thewlis, Vaughan, Walker, Whitehead, Williams.

Wakefield Trinity: from Taufua, Gaskell, Lino, Battye, Hood, Whitbread, Ashurst, Tanginoa, Pitts, Crowther, Kay, Bowden, Atoni, Kershaw, Proctor, Smith, Butler, Bowes, Eseh, Dagger, Gale.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths (Widnes). Kick-off: Friday, 8pm.