SEAN Slater’s knee injury is not as serious as first thought, but he and Roughyeds are still waiting for a final report on the nasty-looking knee injury that caused his premature withdrawal from the 34-26 win in the warm-up game at Keighley Cougars.
He went to hospital amid fears that he might have damaged his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) — one of the most serious of knee injuries — but the injury is not as bad as that, although specialists need the swelling to go down before taking their examinations any further.
“It’s definitely not as serious as first feared,” said head coach Stu Littler, “but we are waiting for final reports until the swelling on his knee has subsided.
“Thankfully, it’s definitely not his ACL, but we are now waiting and hoping it’s not a medial ligament that’s damaged.”
Apart from the usual bumps and bruises, Slater’s problem was the only injury from Cougar Park — a boost for Littler and his squad, whose next big challenge as things stand at present is the opening Betfred League One game at the Vestacare Stadium on Sunday, March 27 — again against Keighley.
By then, Littler hopes and expects to have most of his 26-man squad available, including forwards Jack Arnold and Jordan Andrade and centre Calvin Wellington, who all missed the Keighley friendly.
Jason Muranka was another non-starter at Cougar Park, but the timing of the second-row man’s return is more problematical because he is currently undergoing head-injury protocols.
