STEVE Price refused to rule Gareth Widdop and Leilani Latu out of contention for The Wire’s season opener at Wigan Warriors on Thursday.

Speaking after last night’s pre-season friendly win over Salford Red Devils in Mike Cooper’s Testimonial game, Price said Widdop had proved “a quick healer” after suffering an ankle injury in training.

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The club said Widdop was expected to miss the first three rounds of the Super League season, but Price says he and newest signing Latu, who is set to arrive in the UK on Sunday, could feature at the DW Stadium.

Chris Hill, who missed last night’s game, will come back into consideration while Jack Hughes will be assessed as he recovers from hernia surgery.

“Chris will definitely come back into the team next week. We’ll know more about Jack Hughes and Gareth Widdop next week,” he said.

“Gareth’s out of the boot and walking freely. He’s a quick healer – you just never know in this game, do you?

“Leilani will arrive on Sunday lunchtime, which is great. He gives us another big body in that forward pack.

“It’s too early to tell with him for next week. We’ll have to see where his head’s at.”

Price confirmed Wolves picked up no further injuries during last night’s 26-10 win at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, during which Blake Austin and Stefan Ratchford paired up in the halves.

Matty Ashton slotted into Ratchford’s usual spot at full-back and impressed, producing two excellent recoveries at high speed to shut down line breaks from both Tui Lolohea and Niall Evalds.

Warrington Guardian:

Matty Ashton was impressive for The Wire against Salford. Picture by Mike Boden

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Price says he along with a few others have played their way into contention for a spot in his team to face the Warriors.

“Matty’s a very brave player and he’s certainly got some wheels,” he said.

“He’s got so much more growth in him but it was a good starting point for him.

“We’ll go back as a coaching group and review the video but he’s a serious candidate to play.

“I think it was Salford’s third friendly and it was our first.

“We were always going to be a bit clunky to start off with but as the game went on, we looked quite promising especially in the later part of that second half.

“Blake, Stef and Matty Ashton were playing on the ball and we were reacting to space in numbers quite well.

“I thought Danny Walker had some really nice touches. He changed the momentum of the game when he came on.

“Big Luther Burrell had some solid runs and was quite sound defensively on that right edge.

Warrington Guardian:

Luther Burrell goes over for his first try in a Warrington shirt. Picture by Mike Boden

“Overall, it was a pass mark and no injuries is very pleasing.

“I’m going to have some sleepless nights over the next few days.”