Darlington keeper Andy Collett is almost certainly out of tonight's game with Swansea City - after playing just 45 minutes of his comeback match.
Broken ribs and a collapsed lung sidelined Collett for the closing months of last season with the League opener at Cambridge his reintroduction to the team, but it lasted just a half.
The dependable shot-stopper was unable to reappear in the second half after taking a whack to the ribs shortly before half-time. However, the damage was not on the side where he suffered broken ribs at the end of the last campaign.
There were fears he would be ruled out for a matter of months, but after several hospital visits since Saturday the 28-year-old has, barring a miraculous recovery in time for tonight, set his sights on this weekend's game at home to Oxford.
"I've had a couple of x-rays and, hopefully, I'll be back on Saturday," he said. "There's not much you can do with it, I've got bruised cartilage in between my ribs and it's severely shook my lung up again.
"It was on the same side that my lung collapsed, the broken ribs were on the other side. It was just a whack, probably the best test my lung could have had.
"I'm aiming for Saturday, but all I can do is keep putting ice on it because there's no treatment you can do for it.
"It's not the end of the world, it's frustrating more than anything else but it has improved in the last day, so the Oxford game looks more likely." Cambridge's Dave Kitson was responsible for putting the boot in, and Collett was less than happy with the beanpole striker.
An angry Collett said: "The big, ginger lad up front did it. I know exactly what happened, I'd taken a few high balls off him earlier on and he'd already tried to do me.
"Unfortunately he got me eventually, but we got the result, a very good result, and it's given us an excellent start. It's just an unbelievable coincidence that I took a whack on my ribs in my first game back." Collett is one of the vital cogs in the Darlington side, but stand-in Chris Porter did nothing wrong in his appearance on Saturday while he performed ably during his run in the side last season.
With another home game on Saturday against Oxford United, tonight's game presets a fantastic opportunity for Darlington to get the season off to a great start.
Swansea brought in ten new players in the summer but still have former Quaker John Williams, who appeared as a substitute as the Vetch Field club drew at home to Rushden at the weekend.
* The Darlington Supporters Club Annual Guide will be on sale tonight inside the ground and club shop, priced £1.
It includes opposition's ticket prices, travel options, pubs for away matches plus a complete list of summer transfers and released players involving Division Three clubs. It also includes a number of articles from various contributors including an interview with Quakers' 1970s striker Jimmy Seal. All proceeds go to the club's Youth Development system.
Read more about the Quakers here.
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