Wakefield Trinity: Chris Chester must shuffle pack after triple injury blow

A TRIPLE injury blow has left Wakefield Trinity reeling ahead of Sunday's huge game at Salford Red Devils.
Wakefield's Jacob Miller.Wakefield's Jacob Miller.
Wakefield's Jacob Miller.

Trinity, who are on a six-match winning run, will be without half-back Jacob Miller, newly-signed prop Adam Walker and forward Tinirau Arona.

Miller suffered a broken leg in Monday’s win at Wigan Warriors and could be sidelined for up to three months, though coach Chris Chester is hopeful he might be back in around six weeks if he does not need surgery.

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“It’s really disappointing for Milky [Miller],” Chester said. “He is down, as you can understand.

Adam Walker.Adam Walker.
Adam Walker.

“He had probably the best game he’s had for us in a long time on Monday.

“He was playing with confidence and taking the line on and he scored a really nice try as well.

“It’s disappointing, but we’ve got some depth in the squad and at half-back: we’ve got Sammy [Williams], Finny [Liam Finn] is going really well and we’ve also got the option of Kyle Wood if need be.”

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Walker, who made his debut at Wigan, has a medial ligament injury and is facing eight to 10 weeks out of action and Arona (hamstring) is expected to spend five to six weeks on the casualty list.

Tinirau Arona.Tinirau Arona.
Tinirau Arona.

Despite the injuries, Chester reckons Trinity will travel to Salford, who have won their last seven games, in high spirits.

He rated the result at Wigan, where Wakefield won 42-30 after trailing 20-0 inside as many minutes, as the best of his spell as coach and said: “I am really proud of the players over the last couple of weeks.

“We are playing some really good football at the minute. The top-eight’s secure and we are looking at trying to finish as high up as we possibly can.”

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Chester insisted the injuries will give “some opportunities to some young kids over these next few weeks”.

Adam Walker.Adam Walker.
Adam Walker.

He said: “I intend to use the majority of the squad this week, to make sure we are ready to go for Leeds next week and the Challenge Cup game [at Salford] the week after.

“With the top-eight pretty much secure now, with us having got to 20 points, I think we can afford to rotate the squad, but we will go to Salford with a very strong squad and be very disappointed if we don’t come away with a result.”