Hereford may look to the loan market to find a short-term replacement for striker Mike Symons who's been ruled out for ten weeks with an fractured leg.
Manager Pete Beadle said Symons' injury was more serious than they first thought on Saturday when he was on the pitch less than ten minutes before being forced off with as fractured tibia.
"Mike's injury is a little bit more serious than we first thought," Beadle said.
"He had a few problems with it on Monday and Tuesday. He went then on Tuesday for an x-ray and he's got a very small fracture in his tibia. He's going to be ten weeks minimum, that's six weeks possibly in a cast and then four week rehabilitation.
"It's been our toughest pre-season so far with comings and goings. With Jimmy [Oates] going and losing our captain, now Mike with this injury and Will [Puddy] a week before pre-season starting.
"It's been a really tough summer for us so far and that can only bare well that we get all of this bad news out the way before the season starts. Mike will work hard and I'm sure if he's back before the ten weeks he'll do everything he can do, but unfortunately it's a bit off a sucker punch for us."
As for new faces coming into the side, Beadle said one signing should be able to play on Saturday and they'll look into the loan market for a new striker.
"We're really close, one was here tonight, hopefully he'll be available for Saturday," Beadle added.
"Now with Mike, we may look to loan one or bring one in to replace Mike for the first eight or ten weeks of the season. We'll sit down tonight and tomorrow, the staff, and discuss where we go with that.
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| Mike Symons being helped by the phyio on Saturday |
"It's happened so late in pre-season that I don't think we'll get a full-time replacement, but we need to venture into that loan market to make sure we've got the number and the bodies which is vitally important too.
"We're staying in contact with lots of people, obviously we've got Cardiff coming here on Saturday, we're talking to them as well about players, Bristol City about players, West From about players so we are talking. We're just really waiting for them to come back to us and let us know what might be available. If everything goes well and everything's right for us and them, what could be available."
The Bulls gaffer compared the situation to the club's first season in the Midland Football League, with all there disruption he's had to deal with over pre-season.
"We'd love to have a real settled squad for the first day of the season, but I don't think we're going to this year," Beadle said.
"I think it's almost going to be reminiscent of the first season. With the disruption we've had through the summer, and the hard work, it's very similar to that first season with the amount of players we had on trial and things like that.
"It took us three or four games until we got a real settled squad, if you like. The one good thing is that the ones we've got here already are really settled and they've shown tonight they're more than capable of matching teams two leagues above themselves.
"Hopefully now we'll keep them all fit before Saturday, then look after them and wrap them in cotton wool the week before the season."
One other concern is Keyon Reffell, who Beadle says is key for his side. His assistant, Steve Jenkins, had previously said he hoped Reffell would play a part in pre-season but Beadle says that's unlikely.
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| Keyon Reffell |
"He's going to need a bit of sharpness, but if he's available on the fourth of August that's the most important thing for us. He's very key for us, he's very important to us, they all are and Mike's no different.
"I don't know if we're going to get anything out of Keyon before Saturday, we'll wait and see. Mike's definitely going to be out now. Although he actually goes on holiday next week so he wouldn't have been available anyway for the first week or two, but unfortunately he's going to be out a bit longer than that now."