St Helens full-back Jack Welsby will be out for the next eight weeks with a hamstring injury.
Welsby came off early in Saints’ defeat to Leigh on Friday and has since discovered he had injured a hamstring.
His injury adds to Saints’ absences, with captain Jonny Lomax also missed the next three games through suspension.
“We’ve made it back to playing eight weeks ago, which is obviously a pretty significant blow for us,” manager Paul Wellens told BBC Radio Merseyside.
“I don’t need to talk about the importance of Jack Welsby. It’s obviously disappointing for us and, more importantly, for him.
“He is the type of player who would love to play, but the situation is what it is. Obviously, Jack needs to work hard in terms of his rehabilitation to put himself in a position to return later in the year and we have to adapt appropriately as a team to compensate for the loss of Jack.”
Welsby joins Jake Wingfield, Alex Walmsley, Morgan Knowles, Joe Batchelor, Konrad Hurrell and Sione Mata’utia on St Helens’ injured list, while Mark Percival will miss Saturday’s trip to Hull FC, having also been suspended for one game.
“We will have a couple returning this week so we can name a 21 [man squad]. We’re thin, I’m not going to lie, but we’ve been thin for a while,” Wellens added.
“The situation is what it is. But this is professional sport, we just have to adapt. It’s been a challenging period.”
The Saints are sixth in the Super League, two points above seventh-placed Leeds Rhinos.
