SAINTS lost Tommy Makinson with a foot injury sustained in the first carry of the game down at London and with the winger coming off after less than two minutes.

He will be sent for scans in the week, but coach Paul Wellens said it is suspected to be Plantar Fasciitis issue which has been a problem for him in the past.

In his place today Mark Percival reverted to wing, but going beyond this week Saints will probably look to bring in Jon Bennison who was 18th man.

Wellens said: “It's looking like a bit of a Plantar Fasciitis issue, which he's had previously I think in 2019, which kept him out for around four weeks.

“I think it is something similar to that obviously we’ll get the assessments done and see where we're at, but initially it seems like a similar injury to what occurred back then.

“We can’t really speculate too much but there is something there again but until we get the scans done, we won't really know.

“He knew straight away that he had done something and that he wouldn’t be able to continue.”

It will add to Saints’ injury concerns with a casualty list already featuring Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Matt Whitley, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles and Jake Wingfield.

Of those broken hand victim Lomax is due back the week after the international break so will miss one more Saints game.

With Makinson off, Percival earned the plaudits from the coach for the way he stepped up to the plate in an unfamiliar position.

“I have got to pay huge credit to Mark Percival there. He’s not a winger by trade but Waqa Blake went over to the other side and Mark pushed to the wing where he did a great job, kicked his goals brilliantly and carried the ball strongly out of yardage as well.

“When you miss a quality player like Tommy Makinson you need somebody to step in to that role and do the job to the same standard. I thought Percy did that,” Wellens said.

The other wing Blake opened Saints’ account in the Stoop with a well-taken brace of tries on the right – the second polished off with a trademark dive.

“It's great to see Waqa and he’s really warming into the competition now,” said Wellens.

“We always said we had to be patient with him because he got to us late and had a disruptive pre-season.

“But his fitness levels are getting up to where we need them to be and off the back of that, it has started to show on the field.”