Eastleigh were down to the bare bones of a squad for last night's 1-1 draw at Windsor & Eton after being rocked by the devastating news that top scorer Paul Sales has a broken leg.
Unbeknown to the Southampton-based marksman, the damage was done over three weeks ago when he banged his shin in a training collision with ex-Saints midfielder David Hughes.
Manager Paul Doswell explained: "A big lump came up and then went down again, but his leg swelled up every time he played. He finally went to hospital this week and x-rays showed a similar fracture to when he broke his leg as a young player. He's going to be in plaster for 12 weeks."
Cruelly, this latest setback ends a rare injury-free run for the 30-year-old marksman, who for many years has been dogged by groin and hamstring trouble.
He ended last season on a high as the Dr Martens Eastern Division's leading scorer with 29 goals and had already netted three in three games this term before the bad news broke.
"The hospital were amazed Paul had managed to play three matches," said Doswell. "If he'd taken a whack, it could have snapped the bone in half.
"He'd been looking really good again, but I don't think we'll see him back until the New Year."
Sales was one of seven Eastleigh players out injured last night and their cause was not helped when Nicky Banger was sent off for retaliation after 60 minutes.
Windsor - sitting second in the table - were leading by a 44th-minute Paul Holsgrove volley, but ten-man Eastleigh levelled with two minutes to go when substitute Neil Davis hit a sweet 25-yarder into the bottom corner.
It was Eastleigh's third straight draw - and a pleasing result under the circumstances. "With the side we've currently got, it was a good point for us," said Doswell. "Everyone's really happy."
There were more smiling faces at Salisbury City, where a 502 crowd saw Mark Kelly's men continue their unbeaten start by sneaking a 1-0 win over a young Kingstonian side.
The Whites were missing several key players, including midfielder Craig Davis (mumps), skipper Scott Bartlett (bruised foot) and striker Adam Wallace, who fell down some stairs and turned his ankle.
It forced former Pompey winger Kelly to name himself on the bench along with midfielder Matt Davies, who has cracked ribs.
Matt Tubbs was Salisbury's 79th-minute hero. Having planted an early header into the ground and over the bar, the busy marksman raced onto Steve Strong's neat flick to bury the ball under the keeper.
Keeper Kevin Sawyer had made a couple of solid saves for Salisbury but, generally speaking, the home side were on top and could have a couple more at the end. Tim Bond headed against the bar from Wayne Turk's cross and Tubbs wriggled free from four markers and shot just wide.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article