St Helens prop Alex Walmsley has revealed that the timeline for his return from a hamstring injury is still unclear. He has missed the last two matches for the club, having last featured against Warrington Wolves in the Challenge Cup on April 14. The 34-year-old is hoping to get a clearer idea of his return date after further tests in the coming days.
“At the minute there’s a lot of cloud around it,” Walmsley said on The Bench Podcast. “There’s a few other checks that we need to line up and hopefully we’ll get an answer in the next few days to see where we end up.”
Earlier in April, Walmsley signed a contract extension to remain with St Helens until the end of the 2026 Super League season. He has made 280 appearances and scored 52 tries for the Merseyside club since joining in 2012.
Reflecting on his journey, Walmsley acknowledged that his career path was unconventional but expressed pride in his accomplishments. “I was a bit different,” he said. “More often than not, players who come through the Championship have done a scholarship or academy at some point. I stopped playing rugby at 16. I just didn’t enjoy it, I was quite an overweight kid, and it was something I just didn’t enjoy doing. I came back at 18 and got back playing at amateur (level) and at university, and like anything, I just loved it so much.”
“I’ve been fortunate. I’ve had such a great career at Saints. I’ve won so much silverware at the club, but so often, my fondest memories were of the amateur days playing for Dewsbury Celtic.”
Despite receiving offers to move to the NRL in the past, Walmsley has expressed his happiness with his decision to stay in Super League. “It boils down to being happy,” he said. “The first real opportunity came as early as 2015 when I was going into my third year at St Helens.”
“At that point, I’d only left part-time rugby 18 months ago, so I was still learning the game. I was cementing myself as a first-team starter at Saints; it just didn’t feel like the right time to go. I’d just recently lost my mum, and my dad was a big part of my rugby. I didn’t want to take that away from him, so that was part of the decision.”
“I’ve always been happy at St Helens. Being successful brings happiness, and I’ve been fortunate these past six, seven years to be a part of a side that’s been successful in bringing in silverware. We’ve had some unbelievable moments.