Injured Farrell is facing a long spell on the sidelines

The Warriors forward – on loan at Widnes – is set to need surgery on a knee injury which will sideline him for a lengthy period of time.

He was injured during the latter stages of the Vikings’ 30-16 win against Hull KR on Sunday.

Farrell took to Twitter to thank fans for the support. He said: “Gutted to say the majority of my season is over. But got to get my head done now and support the boys.”

Shaun Wane is confident the injury won’t stall Farrell’s development.

He said: “It’s really sad for Connor. But he’s a tough kid and knowing the character he is, I’m sure he’ll come back stronger from it.”

Farrell was seeing a doctor yesterday to decide the best course of action.

Early indications suggested the 22-year-old would need surgery but Wane said it was too soon to put a time-frame on his recovery.

“We’ll know more in the next few days,” he added.

“We’ll work with Widnes, we all want what is best for Connor.”

Farrell – younger brother of Wigan and England forward Liam – moved to Widnes at the start of the season to gain more first-team action and has helped Denis Betts’ men to the top of the table in the early stages of the season.

But he is highly-regarded by the Warriors, who tied him down to a new, long-term deal before he departed. This is not the first major injury of his promising career – he had season-ending knee surgery in June 2013.

Closer to home, Wane has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Friday’s mouth-watering showdown with Leeds.

Sean O’Loughlin will come back into the reckoning after recovering from an infected cut which kept him out of Friday’s 26-25 win at Hull FC.

Forward John Bateman has been cautioned for a dangerous tackle last Friday but faces no further punishment.