SALFORD insist they will be able to play this weekend, despite being down to training with just SIX players.
The Red Devils have been smashed by Covid-19 with five positive cases in the camp plus a further 10 or 11 self-isolations as close contacts.
Throw in serious injuries to the likes of Kevin Brown and Kallum Watkins and Sunday’s match against Castleford looks a million miles away.
But boss Richard Marshall is adamant they will field a team, saying: “Things aren’t too good, there are a couple of ill boys.
“We had six players on the field training. It’s tough, it really is. Myself and assistant Danny Orr have had to jump in to make up the numbers!
“It’s as bad as I’ve known it. We’ve been really good as a club but this has caught up with us. This new variant is very, very contagious
“We’re hopeful the guys coming out of isolation will be back tomorrow which will give us two sessions – but I don’t know my team at this moment in time.
“The guys self-isolating have been given their own home programs and hopefully they’ll come in in real good condition. The rest will do us good but they wouldn’t have touched a ball for 10 days.
“I’m hopeful, though, we’ll be able to get a squad on the field. We’re going to put a team out.”
Salford were forced to postpone matches against Wakefield and Hull because of the outbreak. Wakefield will be next Friday while looks set to be squeezed in some time in August.
One player who should face Castleford, though, is Krisnan Inu who is back after an eight-week club suspension for a social media post that appeared to back former team-mate, now convicted rapist, Jarryd Hayne.
And Marshall believes the 34-year-old is just what his side needs, adding: “He has been training and is looking forward to getting back involved.
“We’re lacking a bit of experience and leadership at the moment and Krisnan has served his time. He’s one of the six who are training and isn’t in bad shape at all.”
