Warrington Wolves injury news with forward to miss Catalans clash

THEY may now have a trip to Wembley to look forward to, but it is full steam ahead for Warrington Wolves until then.

Their second trip of the year to Catalans Dragons on Saturday, kick off 5.30pm UK time, is the first of two important Super League games before they travel to the capital to face Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup Final.

Wigan travel to The Halliwell Jones Stadium a week before the Wembley date but first, Sam Burgess and his players will tackle Les Dracs for the third time this season.

And having lost the other two, there is no hint of self-preservation from Burgess – as things stand, he is set to name largely the same 17 that hammered Huddersfield Giants in Sunday’s Challenge Cup semi-final.

There is only one confirmed absentee, with forward Jordy Crowther set to miss the game having not travelled to France with his teammates on Monday.

“We’re pretty much as we were on Sunday,” said Burgess, who will confirm his full 21-man squad for the game on Thursday.

“Jordy Crowther’s not here – he’s the only one that hasn’t travelled – but other than him, we’ll be pretty much exactly the same as we were at the weekend.

“He’s got some important time with his family that he needs to be there for, and he’s got a little niggle as well so we’ve rested him.

“The focus is this week. We were close when we played Catalans here in Round One, but I think we’re a different team to what we were then.

“It’s all about this week for us – they will be well-rested and coming out pretty hard so we’re trying to keep all our focus on this week.”

Burgess has middle-unit options aplenty to cover Crowther’s absence, with Joe Bullock and Max Wood among those waiting in the wings.

Having booked their ticket to Wembley on Sunday, the squad left England the following day to spend a full week in France preparing for the clash with Steve McNamara’s men.

The squad are staying in the coastal resort of Canet just outside Perpignan and while he has been keen to give the players as much downtime as possible, Burgess insists their actual preparation for the game has been the same as it would have been in the UK.

“We had a good work day today and got plenty done on the field,” he said.

“We’ll do a bit of classroom-based stuff over the next day or so but it’s been a pleasing trip for us so far.

“The main thing is the result on Saturday, so we’re looking forward to the game.

“Our weeks never really change – we work on the turnaround and try and be consistent in our approach.

“We’ve got some good facilities to work in over here so we’ve been able to keep things pretty normal and consistent.

“The change of environment keeps it fresh for the guys and we’ve got a couple of young players travelling with the squad so it will be a good experience for them.”