Wane faces anxious wait on injured duo

Winger Josh Charnley and stand-off George Williams are both “very doubtful” for Friday’s derby with St Helens.

They returned to training yesterday nursing knee injuries.

And, while they are not facing long lay-offs, Wane is unsure whether they will recover in time.

He said: “They’ve not been able to train.

“We’ll check on them on team run (on Thursday), we definitely won’t know until then, but they’re both very doubtful for this weekend. If not, they should be ready for our next game.”

Wane was speaking at his weekly press conference, which was staged at Haigh Country Park, where the players had a game of ‘foot golf’.

Winger Dom Mandredi is already out following a major knee injury in Friday’s 36-22 loss at Castleford which has ended his campaign.

Wane has other options for the wing, with Lewis Tieney and Oliver Gildart both failing to make the cut last week.

And Jake Shorrocks is on stand-by to take Williams’ place if he misses Friday’s showdown at the DW.

Shorrocks has poked his way into the side in recent weeks, making six appearances – the last of them including five goals in a crushing 60-12 win against Wakefield.

And the 20-year-old is poised to play a bigger role next year with halfback Matty Smith set to join St Helens for 2017.

It is unclear whether the deal will be confirmed before Friday’s derby, but Smith, 29, has been granted a release from the final two years of his deal to return to his hometown club.

Saints stepped up their bid for Smith as a replacement for Luke Walsh, who is set to join Manly along with ex-Wigan, and current Melbourne, halfback Blake Green.