DARYL Powell has confirmed Josh McGuire is likely to start for Warrington Wolves against Catalans Dragons on Saturday as he makes his long-awaited competitive debut for the club.
The former Queensland and Australia forward has completed a seven-match ban handed to him for his sending-off for unacceptable language during the pre-season match against Leigh Leopards and is now available to head coach Powell.
In recent weeks, he has elected to introduce the likes of Gil Dudson and Joe Philbin from the bench after they returned from lengthy injury lay-offs.
However, Powell hinted McGuire would come straight into the starting side at loose forward but implied he could spend some time at hooker in the coming weeks given Daryl Clark’s current absence with a knee injury.
“I’d say there’s a strong chance he’ll start,” the Wire boss said.
“We’ve got three practice sessions between now and the game so we’ll see how he comes through them but at the moment, my thinking is he will play from the start.
“Until Clarky comes back, having him jump in at hooker will need to be part of our thinking.
“Whether that happens or not will depend on Danny (Walker) and how he handles those 80 minutes. It’s pretty tough for a middle guy to do that.
“It is part of our plan but when and how much we use him there, we’ll have to see.”
Powell also confirmed the only fresh injury concern within the Wolves squad at the moment is winger Matty Russell, who was forced off during the first half of Saturday’s 34-6 victory over Hull FC with a knee problem.
As of today, Russell is yet to have the injury scanned so the full extent of the issue remains unclear.
Powell also provided an update on when outside back Connor Wrench is expected to return as he nears the end of his recovery from an ACL injury.
“He should be available in mid-May,” Powell said of Wrench.
“He’s training great – he’s flying around at the moment. He’s a pretty athletic guy and he’s looking in great shape.
“It will be awesome to see him back skipping around.”
On Russell, Powell added: “He’ll have a scan and we’ll see where he’s at. I don’t think he’s too bad but until you get a scan, you don’t fully know.
“I had a quick chat with Nick (Murphy, club physio) about it but I haven’t seen Matty so we’ll have to wait for a full update on him.
“Other than him, I think we’re alright. We get a couple of middle men back this week and we’re starting to get more towards our best middle, which will be handy.”
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