SAINTS have been dealt a series of hammer blows ahead of Good Friday's trip to Wigan.

Scans and X-rays have revealed that star stand-off Travis Burns suffered a triple fracture of the cheekbone in the opening minutes of his return to Hull KR.

To add insult to injury, the match officials punished the late, shoulder tackle to the face with only a penalty, leaving Rovers with a full complement of players for the rest of the game.

That James Green has subsequently been hauled up before the disciplinary chiefs will be of no benefit to Saints, who lost the game by two points.

Fellow new signing Atelea Vea was also in the wars, suffering a shoulder injury at Hull KR.

He will have more tests this week to determine how best to manage the problem but there are fears that he will be unavailable for several months.

And to complete a triple dose of bad news Jonny Lomax, who injured his knee at Wakefield three weeks ago, will undergo exploratory surgery to find out the extent of his knee problem.

The prognosis is a nine month absence - again writing off his season for the talented full back.

James Roby, Paul Wellens and Joe Greenwood will have late fitness tests this week to determine whether they can play at Wigan.

Cunningham said: "It's hardly ideal going into such a big game without Luke Walsh, Travis Burns, Jonny Lomax, Mark Percival and Atelea Vea, and with doubts over Roby, Greenwood and Wellens. It's not just the number of injuries but the class of player missing in key positions.

"However, this group of players have proven that they know how to deal with adversity, even on the biggest of occasions."