Two Dewsbury Rams stars out for long-term with knee injuries
Two Dewsbury Rams stars are set for a long spell on the sidelines with knee injuries, head coach Paul March has confirmed.
In-form Jack Briggs and veteran Paul Sykes have both had operations on their knees, with the former set to be out for the rest of the 2026 campaign.
44-year-old Sykes’ injury isn’t thought to be as severe and he could make a return to action before the season finishes.
March told the Reporter Series ahead of a blank weekend for the Rams: “We are all fit and well apart from two long-term injuries. Paul Sykes has done his knee and Jack Briggs is probably out for the season with a knee injury.
“Briggsy was just coming into his own. That is massive. But he will come back from that injury. It is disappointing at the minute but he had his operation on Wednesday and he can start looking forward to his return.
“Paul has had an operation on his knee. He is in recovery time now. Age is not on his side, but hopefully he can come back fighting fit and get a game in before the end of the year.”
The Rams have narrowly lost their previous two Championship encounters having won their opening three league games, but March believes the latest performance against Barrow Raiders has given the team “confidence.”
He said: “I thought we competed well. They had moments in the game where they did roll us quite easily but I thought our desire to defend our tryline was really good. We just missed a few opportunities.
“After the game we were disappointed that we had lost but we are not a million miles away from those top teams in the Championship. It does give us confidence.
“We are building and building. We have got a young side, a low budget but I am really happy with how we are progressing.”
He added on the upcoming weekend off due to the Challenge Cup before travelling to Cumbria to face Workington Town a week on Sunday:
“We have got a week off now to re-charge and then we go again at Workington which is going to be a very tough game for us.
“I would probably prefer to play this weekend because we had a week off when the lads were in Las Vegas and I don’t think it did us any help at the weekend when we played.
“We looked a bit lethargic to start with but we soon got back into it.”