Wakefield Trinity can cope with loss of hookers says Chester

Tyler Randell has not played since suffering a knee injury during the Boxing Day challenge game against Leeds Rhinos and Kyle Wood sustained ankle damage at the start of last Saturday’s 16-14 win at Catalans Dragons.

Coach Chris Chester said Wood’s injury is “not great” and he confirmed: “We are probably looking at a month.

“Hopefully we will get him back for the Easter period.

“He has got a grade three ATFL (anterior talofibular ligament) injury to his ankle.”

But Trinity will only be without a specialist No 9 for one match.

“We should have – we hope – Tyler Randell back for the Wigan game next week,” Chester added.

“That will be a big boost for us.”

Of his plans for the acting-half role against Giants, Chester said: “We are probably looking at people like Rocky [Ryan Hampshire] or Jordan Crowther.

“He did a lot of pre-season training there so we will probably go with those two guys and keep Liam Finn and Milky [Jacob Miller] in the halves.

“That’s what we are looking at, but Matty Ashurst can also play at nine. He played there a couple of times in my first year, so we have got a couple of options.”

In-form Trinity are on a three-game winning run at the start of the season and coach Chester was delighted to see his side maintain their 100 per cent record in the south of France.

“It is a tough place to go and get a result,” he said.

“We wanted to come away with the two points, that was our one objective – I wasn’t bothered how we did it as long as we did it.”