Wigan Warriors coach Shaun Wane 'gutted' with Joe Burgess injury

A knee injury to Warriors winger Joe Burgess soured Friday night's comeback win over Widnes.
Joe Burgess is helped from the fieldJoe Burgess is helped from the field
Joe Burgess is helped from the field

The Warriors produced their third second-half fightback in four games to claw their way back from 18-4 down to win 32-24.

Burgess had scored the first of a three-try burst inside six second-half minutes to put Wigan on track for their dramatic win which keeps them in touching distance with St Helens at the top of Super League, but Wane was left ‘gutted’ with another injury to one of his stars sustained on Widnes’ artificial pitch.

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Jake Shorrocks last season, and Nick Gregson the year before, have also sustained similar injuries at the Select Security Stadium, and Wane is unsure of how long Burgess will be out for.

“I don’t know the details of it,” he said.

“We’ve had three bad knee injuries here. With Jake and Nick before that. I’m absolutely gutted because I think his form has been fantastic.”

Wane does have a replacement ready in fit again Tom Davies, who missed Friday night’s game but has recovered from a rolled ankle.

Despite being 14 points down at the break, Wane insisted there were no signs of panic in the Wigan dressing room.

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“It was calm, just a few technical fixes and a bit in contact in our D and how we can attack a bit smarter,” he said.

“I thought in the first 10 minutes we controlled it and got to the end of our sets and completed.

“That was a lesson and we went away from doing what worked and got ourselves into a bit of trouble. Second half we fixed it.”

Burgess, Morgan Escare, Willie Isa, Ryan Sutton and Taulima Tautai scored Warriors’ second half-tries as they held their nerve to take the win.

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Oliver Gildart scored the opening try of the first half before Wigan lost their way, but Wane revealed he was confident his players would recover.

“They know what works for us and they all understand and agree with how we need to play,” he said.

“Widnes threw a lot at us like they always do. They’re busted with injuries but they really put us under pressure.

“We had a poor 40 minutes in the middle of the game and still found a way to win.”

Escare, who stood in for Sam Tomkins, impressed with his performance.

“He’s still rusty on a couple of things but overall I’m happy with his effort,” said Wane.