Barrow AFC are looking into the possibility of midfielder Jason Taylor wearing a mask to protect his facial injuries when they return to action against Notts County next week.

Taylor was forced to go off in the closing stages of last Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Sutton United after a heavy blow to the head and the results of which have turned out to be worse than originally thought.

Rather than just have to go through concussion protocols, Taylor is having to recover from three fractures - with two of those in his cheekbone and one in his eye socket.

Despite these, the 32-year-old lynchpin is eager to get back on the field as soon as possible - not surprising from someone who returned within two weeks of having four teeth knocked out against Maidstone last season.

Manager Ian Evatt said: “It was a bit of a shock and he’s had a lot of pain and a lot of swelling, so we had to get him checked out and that’s the outcome now.

“We’re waiting to find out whether these fractures are stable enough for him to be able to play in a mask - Zorro style - hopefully he can because Jason is obviously one of those who wants to play no matter what.

“We have to see the outcome of him seeing a specialist and then we’ll go from there.”

While the Bluebirds hope to have Taylor back available to them before long, they will be without the services of captain Josh Granite for at least ten weeks due to the injuries he sustained against Sutton.

Granite battled on for the remaining few minutes despite dislocating a shoulder and fracturing a collarbone in a heavy fall in his own penalty area.

Evatt said: “He showed unbelievable courage and it just shows you what these players are willing to do to fight for the shirt.

“They want to win football matches and they want to win at all costs and to be challenging at the top of any league you need players and people to do that.”

Evatt has confirmed that he had begun identifying potential targets if he does need to dip into the loan market to compensate for the spate of injuries that have suddenly ripped through AFC’s squad.

In addition to Taylor and Granite, they have had to monitor the fitness of defenders Sam Hird and Brad Barry and striker Dior Angus.

Evatt said: “Brad Barry will be fit for Notts County, but Dior is probably 50-50. He’s improving every day, but whether he improves enough in time is questionable.

“We have to be careful, as he’s a speed player and it’s a ‘speed injury’ with his hamstring, so we don’t want to rush him back and have another breakdown. We have to make sure he’s 100 per cent when he comes back.

“Sam is probably 50-50 for Notts County as well. He’s improving every day, again, but whether he improves on time we don’t know yet.”