Tuesday 22 November 2016 11:39, UK
Warrington coach Tony Smith believes the short-term loss of utility back Stefan Ratchford will be a bigger blow than the departure of Chris Sandow.
Sandow has walked out on the club despite having 12 months left on his contract while Ratchford sustained a serious knee injury while training with England in the recent Four Nations Series.
"He was about to do some stretching and squatted down to get ready when his knee locked," Smith said.
"It was all a bit of a shock because when he went in to see the consultant he was under the impression it was only going to be a bit of floating bone but it was worse than that.
"So he went in thinking it was going to be a couple of weeks operation and came out with a four-month operation.
"I'd say he'll miss at least the first four games and that's more of a blow than Chrissy. I was a bit shattered when I heard about that one. That has more impact on us."
Regarding Sandow's decision to stay in Australia rather than return to the Wolves, Smith was phlegmatic about the whole affair.
He said: "I can't say I'm heartbroken or even surprised or disappointed, the only disappointment is that it was a little bit late in our off season before he told his manager.
"I've no idea what he will do, he might be taking up a boxing career, who knows? Chrissy wouldn't have planned his next move, he just does things off the top of his head.
"I'm pretty confident we'll come up with a suitable replacement."
Meanwhile, Smith has confirmed that loose forward Ben Harrison is not part of his plans for the 2017 season.
"He'll go out on a year-long loan," the coach said. "He's working through that at the moment."
Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4!
