Ian Watson admits victory over Salford came at a cost for Huddersfield

The Huddersfield head coach, Ian Watson, confirmed that his side’s victory against Salford came at a cost after the outside-backs Ash Golding and Will Pryce sustained injuries at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Golding could be out for up to eight weeks after the winger strained a hamstring, while the full-back Pryce damaged an ankle in the win.

“Ash has got a grade two hamstring strain,” Watson said. “He thinks it’s pretty bad. It might be six to eight weeks, which is a bad one. Jermaine McGillvary will probably get an opportunity to come back.

“Prycey is moving around all right. Fingers crossed it’s just a ligament twist. He just stepped off and it gave away a bit. We’ll know more after having it scanned. He’s moving well at the moment, so fingers crossed it’s not too bad.”

Despite the injuries, Watson was pleased was the display of his team. “It was a big result for us,” he said.

“It was a really good, tough game. It was exactly what we expected. Salford are not the underdogs any more, they’re capable of competing at the top end of the table. They are a team with high-quality players.

“I thought we were pretty comfortable throughout the game. At the back end when we needed to defend our goalline we were there for each other. I’m really proud of them. All the boys were sensational in their mentality in how they approached the game.”

Salford face a fitness wait of their own after the winger Joe Burgess damaged ribs in the first half of the defeat. Burgess was replaced two minutes before half-time but the Red Devils head coach, Paul Rowley, revealed the outside-back played on for nearly 20 minutes with the injury.

“Joe actually did it about 15, 20 minutes earlier when carrying the ball,” he said. “I think it will be a wait and see,