Castleford Tigers centre Sam Wood is set to miss the rest of the season after picking up an injury on international duty.
He was let go by Hull KR last year, and was snapped up by Castleford Tigers.
He’s had an excellent season, playing in every game for the Tigers this year and being one of their most impressive performers week after week.
Recently, he scored against his former club, assisted by another that was let go by the Robins in the off-season in Rowan Milnes.
Wood has been playing centre this year, but has previously played on the wing, in the halves and even at loose-forward and second-row.
His form earned him a surprise call-up from Shaun Wane to the England squad, and he started in the centres against France.
Sam Wood to miss the rest of the season for Castleford Tigers
In a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s clash against St Helens, head coach Craig Lingard confirmed the worst possible news for Wood, after what should have been a special moment for him.
He said: “Unfortunately he is done for the year, he needs a reconstruction on his shoulder.
“It’s massive news… he’s probably been our most consistent player this season. He deservedly got that recognition playing for England but it’s bad news for us.
“Even in games when we weren’t performing too well, I thought Woody was one of the players who was always at the top of the tree. It was a real good boost for him to get that cap and hopefully it’s the first of many. But for us it’s a blow to lose him for this week and the rest of the season.
“He seems in as good a spirit as he possibly can be.
“If he’d carried on playing through it could have been seven months, so the three-month it’s going to be is the best-case scenario. You’re trying to look at it with a glass half-full.
” I know it’s not ideal but he’ll be ready for next season.”
Castleford will now likely be forced to play Alex Mellor in the centres alongside Corey Hall, as Josh Hodson is injured and both Charbel Tasipale and Jack Broadbent have departed the club.
Discussion about this post