Coyle suffers injury setback

THOMAS COYLE’S ankle injury picked up in the 44-26 win at Swinton could keep him out of action for some time, says Roughyeds coach Tony Benson.

The scrum-half hobbled off the field at Sedgley Park three minutes into the second half after picking up a painful knock and the former Wigan academy star may now miss the upcoming Northern Rail Cup quarter-final tie at home to Featherstone Rovers.

The younger of the two Coyle brothers had been filling in at hooker when Phil Joseph was off the field, filling the gap created by the loss of the now-departed Stevie Gibbons.

But while the absence of the Coyle would in normal circumstances cause further headaches for Benson as far as the number nine role goes, the fact that the Roughyeds are only scheduled to play twice in the next month mitigates the potential impact significantly.

“Tommy’s ankle is pretty sore at the moment but it is fair to say we are at the right part of the season for someone to pick up an injury like that,” said Benson, who will get the chance to further check on Coyle at training tomorrow night.

Oldham’s victory yesterday kept the team in second place in the Co-operative Championship One, two points behind leaders Dewsbury — who trounced struggling Workington 76-14 at Derwent Park — having played a game more of both the Rams and Keighley, in third and four further points adrift.

In the event of the Roughyeds coming out on top in the Featherstone last-eight tie, which is being held as a ‘home’ fixture at the Leigh Sports Village Stadium in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Thursday, June 4, the competition’s semi-finals will be played out on the weekend of Sunday, June 21.

The next scheduled league fixture for Oldham is the game away at York on Thursday, June 25, which is again being broadcast live on Sky Sports.