Wigan Warriors: Iain Thornley provides an update on his recovery from injury and sets his sights on a return to action

The centre had to leave the pitch early on in the opening game of the season against Hull KR, after he suffered an ankle injury.

Thornley hopes it won’t be too long now until he is back on the pitch, even though he has been able to still play a role while out of action.

He said: “Recovery is going really well. We aimed for two to three weeks for me to come out of my boot, and we were on the minimum time frame, so that was a good start. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer.

“We are ticking the boxes each week, fingers crossed we can stick to the schedule. I’ve set myself the challenge of getting back as quick as I can, and that could be the end of the month. I just need to show I’m fully fit and ready to go, wanting my spot.

“These things happen, it’s part of rugby, it’s a contact sport. Thankfully it’s only been short, but when the team is winning every week, it’s a bit gutting that you're not out there with them.

“The injury could’ve been a little bit worse, and it could’ve been months with an operation, so even though six weeks isn’t good, it’s the best out of a rubbish situation.

“Just watching in the stands, you get a different idea of what is going on. You get a different eyesight of the pitch, where you don’t see the space or what is unfolding sometimes.

“I’ve been able to do a bit more of the video analysis with some of the boys, and just contributing in that way and giving them advice from my point of view.

“It’s just about passing on the information to help them out. I will tip them up on who they are playing at the weekend, and what they’ve been doing. End of the day, we are one team and it is all about helping each other to get that win.”

Thornley rejoined Wigan ahead of this campaign, after previously representing the club between 2012 and 2015, where he was part of the double winning season in 2013.

While he couldn’t play in the recent games on the Warriors’ tour of France, he still made the trip over to Toulouse in a different role.

“The club let me jump on with the sponsor's trip to Toulouse, so I saw that side of things,” he added.

“I was helping them out, taking them to the game and doing a few sightseeing excursions, so it was good to spend a bit of time with the sponsors.

“I’m also going to do some work with the office staff as well, to get a grip of that and see how it all works.

“It’s been alright doing that, but I’m hoping I can get back running in the next week and things will start getting a bit busier for me.”

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