Barrow AFC will be without influential midfielder Jason Taylor for at least three weeks due to the facial fractures he sustained during the hard-fought victory against Sutton United a fortnight ago.

The Bluebirds were hoping to field Taylor with a mask to protect the two fractures to his cheekbone and one to his eye socket, but they have been told they will have to wait until it is safe to do so.

It means AFC will be without two of the main leaders in their squad for tomorrow's game at Notts County, with club captain Josh Granite set to be out until January with a broken collarbone, which also occurred during that 1-0 win against Sutton.

Manager Ian Evatt said: "Playing in a mask, Zorro style, is something we want Jason to do and it's something he wanted to do, but for the first three weeks there needs to be a rest period where some new bone growth starts to develop on the fractures.

"We've been told that until that starts to happen then it's too much of a risk for him to play because the fractures will still be 'unstable.'

"It's at least three weeks he's going to be out for and then we'll see from there how the x-ray goes and how much growth there is there."

AFC will be hoping for some better news on the muscle injuries to Sam Hird (thigh), Dior Angus and Brad Barry (both hamstring) ahead of the trip to Meadow Lane, with all three progressing well during the two weeks without a game.

Evatt said: "They're doing OK and all three have a chance for Saturday, so that's good news and we'll see how they carry on in training for the next two days.

"Dior has been on fire and I thought we missed him against Sutton - the way he stretches the opposition and stretches their defence with his pace is important to us.

"We can't take risks with him because he's a speed player and hamstrings are a big part of your speed, so we have to make sure he's fully fit and ready to go before we take that risk."