Positive injury update for Watts

The England international was forced from the field midway through the first half of last week’s victory over Hull KR after rupturing a ligament in his finger.

Following a scan on the damage this week, Watts has been given the all-clear to return to action much sooner than first expected, with the front-rower still a possibility of being fit to take on Warrington this Friday.

However, worst case scenario, Watts is expected to be fit for next weekend’s clash with St Helens, a much better diagnosis than the 6-8 week recovery time initially expected.

Head coach Daryl Powell said: “It’s not as bad as we thought for Wattsy, he’s got an injury to his tendon which means his finger is dislocating out of the bottom. It’s not very nice for him but he’ll be okay.

“Whether he plays this week or not we’re not certain at this stage but if not we’re hopeful it’s a one-week injury rather than the initial 6 or 8 we feared it might be.

“Wattsy hasn’t found his best form so far this year but we all know what he’s capable of. Hopefully he comes through this and then he can start to get a bit of rhythm going to his season.”

However, whilst it’s positive news for Watts, speaking at this week’s pre-match press conference, Powell confirmed that winger Sosaia Feki has suffered a setback on a calf injury that will extend his spell on the sidelines.

Feki first injured his calf in the pre-season friendly against Toronto but was in contention to make his competitive Tigers debut against the Wolves this weekend before a reoccurance of the injury in training.

Powell added: “Sosaia tore his calf again on Sunday morning. He’s done a lot of work on his return to play from his calf injury and it wasn’t a high intensity session that he was in so there’s a bit of an issue there that we need to get to the bottom of. He’ll go for a scan and we’ll know a bit more then but you’re always wary when it’s a reoccurring injury.

“It’s massively disappointing for Sosaia, he was devastated when it happened, and we’re disappointed that we can’t get him in the team right now.

“It’s going to mean Sosaia will have to wait a bit longer for his debut but we’re not sure how long at this stage. We’re going to have to be patient as it’s just not happening for him at the moment but we’ll look after him.

“There’s no doubt he’s going to go on and have a fantastic career at this club and we’ve got James Clare and Derrell Olpherts playing outstanding rugby league for us which helps.”