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St Helens coach Daniel Anderson has confirmed that the broken nose suffered by Lee Gilmour will keep the second rower out of their Super League clash with Harlequins on Friday.
Gilmour suffered the injury as Saints opened the defence of their title with an 18-10 victory against Huddersfield Giants on Sunday.
Playing as a makeshift threequarter, Gilmour touched down twice and ended the match sporting a white bandage to try and help support his nose.
But Anderson has said that he will miss Friday's game, and added that Gilmour could be a doubt for the World Club Challenge against Brisbane on February 23.
"Lee Gilmour won't play on Friday," he said. "His nose is shattered. It's a nasty injury. Hopefully he's back before the World Club Challenge."
The injury means that Gilmour joins full-back Paul Wellens and captain Paul Sculthorpe on the sidelines.
And the Great Britain trio could yet be missing another of their number, with back rower Jon Wilkin facing the threat of suspension ahead of a League disciplinary panel hearing on Tuesday.
Both Wellens and deputy Ian Hardman are currently sidelined with leg injuries, with Anderson pessimistic about the former's chances of an early return.
"I'll name Paul Wellens in the squad but he's unlikely to play. He's got to be able to compete in a training session and he hasn't done that yet," he said.
With Sculthorpe recovering from a knee injury and not due back until Easter, Anderson said that Sean Long and Jason Hooper will continue with kicking duties.
The decision comes despite the fact that the pair managed only one conversion from four attempts against the Giants.
"We'll get better. Longy hasn't kicked since 2005 and their first practice was on Saturday morning for 15 minutes," Anderson continued.
"If that's my fault, I'll put my hand up but I've got other things to do at the moment, defensively and offensively.
"They've got to get used to the pressure and get rid of their reluctance until Scully comes back."
Saints do welcome back Willie Talau from suspension, but Anderson added that he was not relishing the prospect of starting the season missing as many as four of his top players.
"We're skinny and that is a concern," he concluded. "We're battening down the hatches at the moment. We're getting into teenagers who I really didn't want to pitch in at this time of the year."
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Source: Sky Sports |
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