Joy's bust shoulder 'no biggie'

PHIL JOY

FORTY-EIGHT hours after dislocating a shoulder, Oldham RL prop Phil Joy reported for training last night and wanted to know what all the fuss was about.

"He's a tough lad," said coach Scott Naylor. "But he'll have to have a lay-off - not sure how long - to make sure everything settles down. We don't want the shoulder popping out again. He turned up as though nothing had happened.

"The medical staff did a bit of work on the shoulder with him; . . . all very upbeat and positive considering it was only two days since he was injured. We'll have a much clearer idea of how long he'll be out when we look at him again in a fortnight."

Joy was injured while Oldham were hanging on to an 18-16 lead against London Broncos and defending grimly.

"His shoulder was bust, his arm was hanging down by his knees, but he still got back into our defensive line and helped us defend the next three plays," said captain Gareth Owen.

With Joy sidelined for Sunday's Championship clash at Hull KR, it would seem likely that Liam Thompson or Ben Davies, maybe both, will be in the 17. Neither has played in the three Championship games so far, after picking up niggling lower-back injuries in the pre-season warm-up games.

George Tyson will complete his four-match ban in time for the home game against Dewsbury Rams on March 5. Scott Leatherbarrow, who suffered a badly-gashed forehead against London, is expected to be okay, but is still being monitored.