Harchester United defender Johnny Carlisle could be set to miss Saturday's trip to Anfield to face Liverpool in the FA Cup 5th Round.
The defender had to be taken off at half time in Tuesday night's Champions League defeat in Moscow after he'd gone down clutching his knee following a collision.
Dragons boss Erik Gentner confirmed the news at his regular weekly press briefing yesterday afternoon.
"Johnny is a doubt. He picked up a knock on Tuesday night. Nothing too serious long term, but could rule him out on Saturday."
The news comes as a blow to the Dragons as Carlisle had been leading the team excellently from back, standing in as captain for the already injured Liam Mackay.
Mackay has been suffering from tonsilitus recently and Gentner confirmed that the Scot is nowhere near full match fitness yet.
"Liam is suffering from a lack of training due to illness. We have him on a programme and hope he will be back soon.
Ryan Naysmith is currently out with a sore knee but is expected to be back in time for the return leg of the Champions League tie with CSKA Moscow.
Jay Marney still remains out following the broken arm he suffered against Sunderland earlier this month.
Reijmond Van Den Bergh is set to be back in the starting line-up as he is said to be back to full fitness once again.
However, there is the question as to who will be starting alongside Van Den Bergh in attack as neither one of Luiz Costa or Jason Porter appear to be on form and Kieron Hartson seems to have dipped in confidence since his hat-trick in the last round of the FA Cup.
There is also the uncertainty surrounding goalkeeper Thomas Heikkinen who has made a number of mistakes in the last couple of matches. But boss Erik Gentner is having none of it:
"Thomas is one of the best goalkeepers in the world and I won't have it any other way."
The Dragons take on Liverpool in the FA Cup 5th Round at Anfield tomorrow.
Harchester.TV - 17th February 2012 |
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