Kavanagh confirms injury doubts
United manager Graham Kavanagh today confirmed that defender Pascal Chimbonda and keeper Mark Gillespie will both miss the Johnstone's Paint Trophy area quarter final fixture at Fleetwood Town on Wednesday evening as the pair received mixed news about their injuries today.Chimbonda, who initially pulled out of training ahead of the Boreham Wood game at the weekend, had a scan on his troublesome groin this morning and has been advised to rest for a few days before coming back into the fold.
Meanwhile Gillespie, who has played every game so far this season, has had confirmation that he has suffered a tear to an outer knee ligament and will be missing for approximately six to eight weeks.
"Pascal came to train with us this morning having slightly twinged his groin last Friday," Kavanagh explained. "It looked like he was going to be fine, but he felt it again while we were doing our warm up. The good news is that he has been told to rest so he should be back sooner rather than later."
"Things are a bit more serious for Mark," he continued. "He's torn a ligament in his knee and it looks like he'll be out for six to eight weeks. That's obviously an issue for us because he has been outstanding.
"Greg Fleming will now get his chance, and he's earned that with the way he has worked for us. We only have the two youth team keepers as back up at the moment and they aren't quite ready for the first team just yet.
"We will be looking for another keeper and we do have a few options that we're working on. That doesn't mean that they'll come here to play right away, because Greg has a chance to show us what he can do in a game situation. He's played a lot of football and it's up to him to bring that into the games he plays for us, starting at Fleetwood tomorrow night. I genuinely hope he shines and does himself justice."
"It's frustrating for Mark, and he is disappointed, but he has to manage himself and his situation," he said. "I'm sure he'll perk up again when he starts to see some improvement with his injury over the next few weeks and I know he'll be ready to kick on from there."