TORONTO Wolfpack could be seriously struggling for players for next week’s clash with The Wire.

The Canadian side could only name a 19-man squad for their game at Wigan last night before losing Jon Wilkin (knee) in the warm-up and James Cunningham (hamstring) in the early stages.

They were already without star signing Sonny Bill Williams, who flew back to New Zealand for the birth of his fourth child, and Warringtonian stand-off Joe Mellor, who has a broken hand.

During the game, Toronto lost prop Gadwin Springer to concussion and outside back Hakim Miloudi to a late sin-binning after his flailing arm caught the face of Warriors skipper Sean O’Loughlin.

Toronto coach Brian McDermott is hoping Miloudi will not face any further disciplinary action from the incident.

"I thought it was a harsh yellow card," he said. "He was defending his tryline and poked him in the eye but it was a fingernail. Hopefully nothing will come of it."

Any suspension could be costly for McDermott, who had just 17 players available from his 23-man squad by kick-off time.

Former Wire player Gary Wheeler – Toronto's 18th man – was drafted on to the bench and their problems worsened when Cunningham, who had been promoted to the starting line-up in place of Wilkin, limped off after only six minutes.

"Jon Wilkin's knee locked," McDermott said. "He couldn't straighten it.

“And then we lost James Cunningham in the first few sets so we were on the back foot from the start.

"It was a bit of a challenge but since round one we've improved and tonight we improved again.

“We are adding elements to our game every week. I thought we were good for a win for a fair while."

The Wolfpack scored first for the third time in as many matches and were level at 10-10 after 58 minutes, but their stoical efforts took a heavy toll as they conceded four late tries to leave themselves still searching for a first win in Super League.

"It's a funny one to assess," McDermott added. "I like how we play and I like our attitude.

"There was a whole host of momentum against us but we managed to get back in the game.

"In many respects, I'm pleased where we are. We are improving week on week but we certainly need to get better as well."