Ally's agony a big blow for Brig

The wing wizard limped out early during bank holiday Monday’s 1-0 victory over Lancaster City at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.

An initial assessment has left the club hopeful that the injury is not too serious, although Waddecar must wait for the swelling to reduce before a full examination can take place.

The injury will be a concern to manager Neil Crowe especially as Waddecar spent a large part of last season on the sidelines with medial ligament damage.

The Brig boss calmed fears by revealing that the knock he suffered on Monday was not to the same knee. But no matter what the diagnosis is, Waddecar will certainly not be available for this weekend’s trip to NPL First Division North bottom side Goole.

“Ally went off after 20 minutes with a knee injury,” said Crowe. “He’s had a basic assessment and we’re hopeful it’s not too serious, but he’s probably going to be out for a month.

“It’s the opposite knee to the one he injured last season, but we’re hoping – fingers crossed – it’s not going to be as bad as that and he won’t be out for too long.”

One of the main reasons behind Waddecar’s long absence from the team last season was the length of time it took to get a proper diagnosis of the injury.

But Crowe insisted the club will not be making the same mistake this time around.

“We are not going to let it go on as long as we did last season,” said Crowe.

“Like I say, he had a basic assessment on Tuesday and we are just waiting for the swelling to reduce before he has a full assessment.

It goes without saying that the Waddecar’s absence will be greatly felt.

He has scored more than a century of goals for the club in nearly 300 appearances, including two diving headers in the 4-1 win at Ossett Albion on Saturday.

“Ally being injured is a massive blow,” said Crowe. “He came back from his injury last season and played like he had never been away and that’s what you get with him, he’s very consistent.”

Meanwhile, Crowe declared himself a happy man with the two wins at the weekend, which catapulted his men into a play-off position in the table.

The victory over Ossett was particularly pleasing especially after it came just a week after losing 5-2 to them in the FA Cup.

“To be honest, they were not 5-2 better than us,” said. “I just said to the lads to cut out the silly mistakes.

“I thought we totally dominated the game and deserved to come 4-1 winners.

“The game against Lancaster was always going to be a tight, but I felt we just edged it.

“We got the winning goal through a header from Matt Lawlor, which was pleasing because it came from a corner that we been practising in training.”

On paper, Brig should feel confident of picking up their third successive win on Saturday – Goole are currently bottom of the table, although Crowe has warned of the danger of complacency.

“They got their first point against Scarborough on Monday and they have probably gone back to basics.”

Crowe will welcome back Jamie Milligan and Michael Potts to his squad this weekend.