GREAT Britain centre Gary Connolly has been ruled out of next month's Origin Series after deciding to go under the knife.

The Wigan stalwart has been struggling with a troublesome knee injury for some time and now looks set for a three-week spell on the sidelines as he opts for surgery.

That will certainly keep him out of the Lancashire-Yorkshire clashes on June 14 and 18 and will leave him facing an uphill battle to be fit for Great Britain's one-off Test match against Australia in Sydney on July 12.

Coach Stuart Raper said the operation was necessary to keep his season alive.

"He's having an arthroscope on his knee because it just hasn't come good for him," he said.

"Now he will definitely miss the Origin series - if he was going to be selected."

Better news for Raper is that key half-back Julian O'Neill, hip, and Australian centre Jamie Ainscough, neck, will be available for selection tomorrow as the Warriors entertain London Broncos.

But luckless second rower Simon Haughton, who finally made his comeback from illness and injury at Valley Parade last week, will be rested once again after taking a nasty blow to the head.

The Great Britain forward had made an impressive start to his return but a magnificent try-saving tackle on Robbie Paul ended with him injured after crashing head first into the advertising boards.

The injury again raised questions over the tightness of advertising boards to rugby pitches and Raper warned that clubs may face legal action if incidents continue.

"It's very hard on these grounds because the fencing is so close. It's these extra boards they put in that make it hard," he said.

"But it's not just a problem in England. Last year a Melbourne player got a terrible gash in his leg and missed 12 weeks of matches.

"What they have started doing in Australia is making the advertising boards out of sponge. We need to bring those in over here because they are a lot safer.

"What we don't want is someone being in a very serious accident and sueing the club."