Taylor loss leaves Brakes with a huge hole to fill

An initial MRI scan on the injury he sustained at Stourbridge has revealed damage to the cruciate ligament.

And although swelling means a second scan will be needed to fully ascertain the damage, it is feared the former Hinckley player will require an operation and a lengthy period of rehabilitation.

It is a cruel blow for Taylor whose versatility has made him a valuable member of Paul Holleran’s squad and the Brakes boss said he will be hard to replace.

“They’ll check again in a few weeks,” said Holleran. “But it looks like it will need operating on.

“It’s difficult for us, losing Michael Tuohy, Jimmy Husband and now Alex.

“They are super players who were not always in the starting XI, but were able to fill a lot of holes.

“As it stands Jimmy is a tool we can use, but committing to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday is something he is not able to do.”

Holleran has got a deal in place to bring in a left-side reinforcement, believed to be former Stratford Town player Tom James, but said he would wait until the bad weather subsided before finalising the move.

The postponements of the home match with Redditch United and a trip to Chesham have left Brakes kicking their heels following the superb win at Weymouth.

Tomorrow’s trip to Arlesey also looks in doubt and, with the fixtures starting to mount up - Brakes are back in action against Barwell on Tuesday night - Holleran said it is important for his side to build up a head of steam going into the final three months of the season.

“The weather came at a bad time for us as we’d just got some momentum,” said Holleran who has been keeping his players ticking over with indoor sessions at Birmingham City.

“We’re already using up our Tuesdays into March and we need to get straight back into it.”

Should tomorrow’s match at Arlesey go ahead, Brakes are set to be without Joe Magunda, whose groin injury is taking longer than expected to heal.

Lee Moore is also a slight doubt after suffering bruising to the bone following a kick at Weymouth.

 Brakes’ Red Insure Cup quarter-final tie at home to Cinderford has been moved to Wednesday February 6 (7.45pm) to avoid clashing with Coventry City’s Johnstone’s Paint Northern Area final first leg clash at home to Crewe which takes place the previous evening.

 Brakes Lottery (Saturday January 19): First number: 35. Second number: 5. Prize fund: £699. No winner. The estimated prize fund for tomorrow’s draw is £815.