SAINTS coach Kristian Woolf has given an injury update on first team casualties Mark Percival, Agnatius Paasi and Morgan Knowles – as well as confirming the broken jaw sustained by young forward Matty Foster while on loan.

Percival came off with a twinge in Friday’s opener against Salford, while Paasi suffered a bad head knock and did not return.

Neither will play on Thursday.

Knowles, too, will be out for a spell having required further work repairing his thumb.

Woolf said: “Mark Percival has a real chance of next week but we need to get through a bit of work.

“We have to be cautious because we can see what a class player he is.

“But we want to put him in a position where he can take the field but stay on it for continuous games after. That is our task for the next week or so.”

The six-day turnaround would have ruled prop Paasi out, but Woolf said they would not have played him even if permitted.

“Agnatius has recovered well from a heavy knock,” he said.

“He won’t play and that is twofold, one the protocol in place but we would not have played after that because we want to look after our players.

“I will be very confident, looking how he was, that he will be fine to go next week.”

Knowles had minor surgery in the off-season with initially a six-to-eight week recovery planned.

But Woolf explained: “Unfortunately one of the parts involved has moved a little bit and it has to be repaired with more surgery.

“We don’t have an exact date when he will be back – it depends how it heals within a couple of weeks.

“When he goes back in for scans and consultation in a couple of weeks time we will get a really good picture of that.

“We are hoping it won’t be too long – and won’t be anything ridiculous like 10 weeks.

“But right now we just don’t know exactly.”

Sadly Leigh coach John Duffy’s first thoughts on Foster’s broken jaw have been confirmed.

The 19-year-old back row faces a lengthy period sidelined with a tough injury.

“It is a devastating injury for him.

“We were happy for him to get a couple of opportunities with Leigh and I thought in the trial against Warrington he showed some of his capabilities.

“He is a young player and it is a bit different trying to make your way in the forwards, compared to the outside backs.

“He is a player we have real hopes of developing and he shown that in the game against Warrington, his potential.

“I was pleased that he was going to get an opportunity against Wigan in round and loved the way he threw himself into that game but unfortunately he has ended up injured.

“A broken jaw is a terrible injury to have with how it limits you afterwards. He is going to have to go through that and be out for a fairly extended period.

“The one thing he has got in his favour is that he is a very committed kid, his youth is in his favour.

“And I have no doubt that we will see Matty take the field again at some stage mid year and play some good footy on the back of that as well,” Woolf said.