BRIAN Wilson has been ruled out of action for a month with a calf injury sustained at FC Halifax Town.

Wilson has damaged the same calf he had hurt in pre-season, while Matt Elsdon has a badly swollen knee from the same gam, with the extent of the damage unknown until the swelling comes down.

It is bad news for boss Ian Evatt, who had lost two of his three central defenders less than a week into the season.

“Matt, we're still unsure of,” he said. “He's got quite a nasty bang to his knee, and we don't know if it's just a bang or if there is some further damage; it's still quite swollen, so we waiting for that to settle down before we maybe get a scan or go for advice.

“Brian has re-torn the injury he had before. It's not as bad as we thought, but it's still enough to keep him out for about a month.”

He added: “It's not ideal, but that's football – you have to deal with what's thrown at you. It is what it is, but we will just have to move on and plan for being without them for the foreseeable future.”

Tomorrow's trip to Leyton Orient sees the final game of Lee Molyneux's suspension, picked up fr being sent-off for Chorley in the National League North play-offs last term.

His absence adds to selection problems in the back-line.

Evatt was hopeful of bringing in back-up before tomorrow, but no signings had been confirmed as the Mail went to press.

In better news, both Jacob Blyth and Joel Dixon are recovering well from their injuries.

“Jacob Blyth joined in training today and was fine,” Evatt said of the striker who dislocated his shoulder in pre-season. “He's not far away from being back – it's just about building up his tolerance levels and his confidence. He's not too bad.

“Joel's not far off being back as well, he's only a week or so away.