Manfredi waits on comeback timeframe

Dom Manfredi had undergone another operation on the knee injury which sidelined him for the entire 2017 campaign.

The winger’s recovery will eat into the start of next season.

He has had a torrid run of bad luck since suffering the injury more than 12 months ago.

Manfredi’s only appearance in a Wigan shirt was in a reserve game at St Helens in August.

The 24-year-old hoped that would be the springboard to a late-season run the team.

But he didn’t finish the game because the joint didn’t feel right.

And while he and the coaching staff crossed their fingers that it wasn’t a major setback, further checks revealed he needed more surgery.

A detailed recovery time frame will become clearer in the New Year, but he won’t be fit for the start of the new season.

Until suffering the injury – against Castleford in the Super-8s last year – Manfredi was in sensational form and he’d done enough to earn selection for the Super League Dream Team.

He late spoke about the “dark times” in the weeks after surgery when he was restricted to the couch.

Manfredi’s right wing spot was taken by Lewis Tierney, who subsequently lost his place to Tom Davies.

Tierney spent the back-end of last season on loan at Catalans, who are keen to retain him for 2018.

The other three players who were ruled out for the season through injury - Morgan Escare, Ben Flower and Jake Shorrocks - are expected to be fit for the start of next season.