Talau excelled for St Helens before moving to Salford

Salford City Reds centre Willie Talau may miss the rest of the season due to a thumb injury.

The 33-year-old former New Zealand international picked up the injury to his scaphoid in last week's 28-6 Challenge Cup defeat at Wigan.

He will now see a specialist amid fears that he may need the use of a screw to pin his thumb back into position.

"Willie has a big problem now. It's a massive blow to the club and the player," said Reds coach Shaun McRae.

"Our medical team believe he will need the operation - there's a kind of grinding when he moves his thumb and that's usually a good indicator that it's going to need screwing together but we'll know the extent of things early next week.

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"If our fears are confirmed, we won't see him again this year as we'd be looking at a minimum four-month recovery period."

Talau, who joined Salford from St Helens on a two-year deal last October, missed 10 matches earlier this season with a depressed fracture of the cheekbone and torn triceps, injuries sustained in only his third match for the club.

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