Chris Hilton says Ross Goodwin is a “big miss” as he joined injured star striker Danny Frost on the Stocksbridge Park Steels treatment table.
Key man Goodwin suffered a double injury in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup win over Staveley Miners Welfare.
“We have lost Ross for six weeks with a hairline fracture to his ankle and his dislocated shoulder,” Hilton told Non League Yorkshire.
“He doesn’t anything by halves.
“Frosty remains out with his knee.
“We lost (Josh) Nodder to his hamstring on Saturday, but the lads who are coming in are doing the job.
“Going back to Ross, the physio said it should be no more than six weeks. Luckily it was only a hairline fracture to his ankle.
“It was in the Staveley game. It wasn’t a bad tackle. He’s a big miss as he is a engine room in there, but the lads are putting in shifts in without him.
“He even showed up at Newcastle to watch the lads so that shows his commitment.”
Stocksbridge have enjoyed a positive opening to the BetVictor South East campaign ahead of the trip to Grant Black’s Belper Town.
The Steels are sixth after losing just one out of their eight matches and Hilton is pleased.
“It has been a good start to the season,” he said.
“With a young side you’re going to have ups and downs. We had a blip against Spalding.
“Spalding’s tactics were right and we were poor. We never got going.
“Every other game, we have competed in. I would have liked us to move the ball quicker in the certain games, but at the very least the lads are competing, they’re being compact and have been in every game apart from the Spalding game.
“Points-wise I think we are around-about where I expected to be at this stage.
“We have gelled quick and it is far different story to last season.
“We have gone back to basics in how we set a changing room up and how we set a team up.
“We went a little more creative last year and it didn’t work. We didn’t have the work ethic in the side until the very end of the season.”
Stocksbridge were lucky to win a point in the 1-1 draw with Leek Town on Tuesday after makeshift striker Reece Fielding equalised late-on.
But Hilton said their performance warranted a point.
“I think it was definitely a deserved point because I felt we were the better team for 90 minutes,” he said.
“The only issue was that I felt Leek created more clear-cut chances than what we did.
“They took the one and hit the post with one. A point was what we least deserved.
“We played some excellent stuff. The lads are started to grasp what we want them to do.
“Performance levels are always up and down with youngsters, but I’m very proud of how they played.”