FINN HARPS manager Ollie Horgan has a number of injury woes to contend with ahead of Friday night’s visit of Galway United to Ballybofey.
Captain Ciaran Coll looks set to miss several weeks of action after sustaining a shoulder injury.
It is understood that Coll picked up the injury after he and a friend were set upon whilst on a night out in Letterkenny the weekend before last.
The St Johnston man, who has been in fine form of late for Harps, had a scan on the injury yesterday to determine the extent of the damage and the club is still awaiting the results.
[adrotate group=”43″]Packie Mailey will sit out the game with a calf injury and a medial ligament will keep Gareth Harkin with a watching brief for a few weeks.
“Ciaran looks like he will be out for a while; it’s one of those, if it’s bad he could be out for two months, or if it’s not so bad he could be out for a month,” Horgan said.
“It was the manner that it happened that I’d be annoyed about.
“It makes matters worse with Gareth the other natural left-footed player I have and he’d have been a candidate to slot in there.
[adrotate group=”50″]“It’s a kick in the teeth for us and it’ll be back to trying to put square pegs in round holes again.”
Horgan has doubts over the availability of Dave Scully and Adam Hanlon, with both in a big race against time to be fit.
Matthew Crossan would have been seen as a possible replacement for Coll at left-back, but the Killea man is no longer a part of the squad, meaning Thomas McMonagle seems the most likely to fill the void.
Ruairi Keating’s return to Finn Park, confirmed earlier this evening by the club, adds a considerable amount to Horgan’s attacking options and the Mayo native could yet be thrown in to face his previous club.
“We haven’t beaten Galway in a few years now,” Horgan, whose side is unbeaten in three, said.
“Are we in a position to beat them now with the players we have out? I’m not sure. On their day, they could beat anyone in this League.
“They had a brilliant start to the season. They have drawn a lot of games recently, but they’re still a fine side.
“We’re sort of trying to fill gaps. We have won two games in a row which is a huge help. We’d be under savage pressure if we hadn’t.
“We still are under pressure and I still feel we’ll be in a battle to stay in this league.”
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