Salford skipper Lee Mossop reveals sleepless nights before getting Wembley go ahead
LEE Mossop has revealed he did not sleep for 48 hours as he waited to hear if his Challenge Cup final hopes would be wrecked by Covid-19.
The Salford captain was left panicking after he returned an inconclusive test for coronavirus early this week.
Fortunately, a retest came back negative, as it did for Mark Flanagan, meaning he can face Leeds tomorrow - but not without a very nervous wait.
Prop Mossop, who admits it will be ‘gutting’ for the fans who waited 51 years for their club to get back to Wembley and cannot go, said: “It was awful, honest to God.
“I tend to be someone who doesn’t get fazed or stressed by much but that’s probably the first time. I didn’t sleep for two nights.
“It was 48 hours of just waiting to see if you’re able to play in one of the biggest occasions in rugby league. It was awful.
“Luckily we did our testing at the start of the week in case anything like this happened. We probably jinxed ourselves in planning for it!
“My missus and family didn’t sleep for two days either.”
Salford will be without Dan Sarginson and Jack Ormondroyd after they tested positive for Covid-19 – retests in case they were a false result also came back positive.
But boss Ian Watson revealed the full back will still be part of their plans to beat Leeds, thanks to modern technology.
He said: “Dan’s going to play a little part for us. We’ve set it up that he can link into us during the game. Even though Dan’s not at Wembley, he will be.
“You can’t comprehend it really. He’s not on a ban and he’s not injured. At the moment, he’s no symptoms whatsoever.
“But Dan has got his head around it pretty quickly. Knowing their support is there will play a part. Sarg is a part of us.”
Salford may welcome back Niall Evalds after a calf injury but Watson insisted playing him would not be a gamble.
He added: “It’s great to have Niall to call upon. Our medical team met him as we weren’t allowed in to train and got him in that running mentality.
“It’s put Niall in a really good place. Niall and I were talking about fairytale endings. He was never expected to get fit enough for Wembley and he’s leaving us at the end of the year.
“This could be a fairytale for Niall.”
