Toronto Wolfpack crisis leaves Ben Flower in 'difficult' position, says Adrian Lam

Wigan prop Flower had signed a deal to join the Wolfpack from next season, though the move had not been confirmed by the Canadian outfit.

But on the eve of the restart, Toronto dropped the bombshell that they were withdrawing from the rest of this campaign and, with rich benefactor David Argyle walking away, there is growing uncertainty over whether they will be permitted to take their place in the top-flight in 2021.

And Lam has a great deal of sympathy with players who have been left both out-of-pocket and unsure where they will be playing next season. He said Toronto were signing players just two weeks before they pulled the plug.

The Wigan coach said: "Ben signed a contract for two or three years and there’s still talk that Toronto are going to be in the competition, so it's a difficult process to know who's doing what and at what levels.

"We need clarification from the RFL on the ruling sooner rather than later, so players that are there know if they're not going to be next year, they have an opportunity to sign elsewhere.

"Every club is going to look at players they've got who are going to Toronto and the same goes with Ben.

"He's got a job to do for us this year before he leaves for Toronto though."

Flower is not available for Sunday's match against Wakefield at Leeds as he has a game to serve of his suspension.

"Ben's always been considered highly here. He's done a great job alongside Tony Clubb in helping bringing the younger ones through," added Lam, who wouldn't be drawn on speculation linking Wigan with a move for Toronto prop Brad Singleton for 2021.