Lewis Dodd: St Helens lose half-back for rest of season

Lewis Dodd, one of Saints' Grand Final winners last October, was just eight games into his first full season in Super League

St Helens have lost young half-back Lewis Dodd for the rest of the season with a "significant" Achilles injury.

Dodd, 20, was injured in Saints' Good Friday derby win over Wigan but coach Kristian Woolf did not reveal its extent until after the 24-12 victory at Huddersfield on Easter Monday.

"He's going to be out for the rest of the season," said Woolf.

"It's a real blow, a devastating blow to him. He's got a significant Achilles injury."

Dodd made his Saints first-team debut in 2020 and made 21 appearances last season, scoring five times.

Woolf added: "All the success and the way we've started this year - he's a big part of that, if I look at what he's done for this team for the last 12 months.

"He came in just after the Challenge Cup last year and he was a big part of what we were able to do, to go through and have success and win the Grand Final.

"In my eyes he's been the form half-back in the competition this year and I'd be very sure he would be in and around the England side in the World Cup at the end of the year.

"It's devastating news for him, and bad luck for us a team.

"It's the second year in a row we've lost our number seven and that's a hard thing to overcome, but what I know about this group is a real resilience."

Saints boss Wolff's initial response to losing Dodds was to select veteran skipper James Roby at scrum-half, alongside the in-form Jonny Lomax.

After a three-day turnaround from the Wigan game to the Giants match, Saints' next outing is at Castleford on Friday night.

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