Injury news from Warrington Wolves with striker set to miss Catalan clash

THEY may now have a trip to Wembley to look forward to, but until then it’s steam ahead for Warrington Wolves.

The Catalans Dragons’ second trip of the year on Saturday, which kicks off at 5.30pm UK time, is the first of two important Super League games before they travel to the capital to face Wigan Warriors in the final Challenge Cup.

Wigan travel to the Halliwell Jones Stadium a week before the meeting at Wembley, but first, Sam Burgess and his players will take on Les Dracs for the third time this season.

And having lost the other two, there is no sign of self-preservation from Burgess – as it stands, he is set to name much of the same 17 that hammered Huddersfield Giants in Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-final.

There is only one confirmed absentee, with striker Jordy Crowther set to miss the game having not traveled to France with his team-mates on Monday.

“We’re pretty much the same as we were on Sunday,” said Burgess, who will confirm his full 21-man squad for Thursday’s game.

“Jordy Crowther’s not here – he’s the only one who hasn’t traveled – but apart from him we’ll be pretty much the same as at the weekend.

“He’s got a big moment with his family that he needs to be there for and he’s got a bit of trouble too so I rested him.

“The focus is this week. We were close when we played the Catalans here in the first round, but I think we are a different team to what we were then.

“It’s all about this week for us – they’re going to be well rested and going out pretty hard, so we’re just trying to focus on this week.”

Burgess has plenty of options for the middle units to cover Crowther’s absence, with Joe Bullock and Max Wood among those waiting in the wings.

Having booked their ticket to Wembley on Sunday, the squad left England the following day to spend a full week in France preparing for the clash with Steve McNamara’s men.

The team are based in the coastal resort of Canet, just outside Perpignan, and while they wanted to give the players as much time as possible, Burgess insists their actual preparation for the game was the same as in the UK.

“I had a good day’s work today and did a lot on the field,” he said.

“We’ll be doing some classroom stuff in the next day or so, but so far it’s been a nice ride for us.

“The main thing is the result on Saturday, so we are looking forward to the game.

“Our weeks never really change – we work on the change and try to be consistent in our approach.

“We’ve got some good facilities to work in here, so we’ve been able to keep things pretty normal and consistent.

“The change of environment keeps it fresh for the boys and we have some young players traveling with the team so it will be a good experience for them.”