England's World Cup plans have been rocked with St Helens duo Jonny Lomax and Mark Percival both ruled out of the tournament.
Boss Shaun Wane names his 24-man squad on Friday morning with England due to kick-off against Samoa in a little over a fortnight’s time. But the pair won’t be included after each succumbing to injury. The loss of stand-off Lomax, especially, is a significant blow given he was earmarked to be Wane’s main playmaker and has been so influential in helping Saints to a fourth straight Grand Final win.
But the 32 year-old has played most of this campaign with a ruptured biceps and will now get that fixed. Centre Percival had missed a big chunk of the Super League season with a problematic knee issue. He returned for their semi-final win against Salford and scored in Saturday’s Grand Final success over Leeds but had said previously about being concerned whether he would be fit enough to feature in the World Cup.
