Widnes lose Carter after injuring ankle in training

The Australian fly-half Steve Carter is unlikely to play for Widnes Vikings again after seriously damaging his ankle in a freak training accident in January.

The club are trying to reach a settlement with Carter to cancel his contract which still has a year to run. The 32-year-old club captain has undergone an ankle reconstruction. "It's unlikely Steve could play again this season," the Widnes coach, Neil Kelly, said.

Carter scored four tries in 23 appearances for the Vikings last year after signing from Penrith Panthers. Widnes have been linked with a move for the rugby union convert, Henry Paul, as a replacement.

In the Arriva Trains Cup yesterday, Roy Sampson's Hunslet Hawks followed up their stunning Challenge Cup win over Huddersfield with an away win at the National League One side Dewsbury, despite a late comeback by the Rams.

Three games fell foul of the weather over the weekend – Rochdale versus Swinton on Saturday, and the Oldham v Barrow and Whitehaven v Workington matches scheduled for yesterday.

The Sydney Roosters utility, Craig Wing, is in danger of missing the season-opening match against Parramatta on 14 March after spraining his ankle during the World Club Challenge shutout of St Helens.

Wing's 24th-minute exit from the Roosters' 38-0 win at Reebok Stadium on Friday had caused little concern, the team doctor, John Orchard, telling the coach, Ricky Stuart, that a pain-killing injection would have allowed him to return to the field. But the 23-year-old was still limping when the NRL champions checked out of their Manchester hotel on Saturday, with Wing to have x-rays during the week.

Orchard said: "He's still hobbling around but it's hard to read much into that. We'll know more when we get home."