Eastleigh are going to resist the temptation to play Matt Le Tissier in defence tonight, despite the injury crisis spreading round Ten Acres.

The Jewson Wessex League title favourites must host championship rivals Totton without ex-Saint Christer Warren, who is out for a month with cracked ribs, and player/joint assistant manager Chris White, who was carried off at Cowes on Saturday with a torn hamstring. There is no guarantee either that towering centreback Stu Roberts will be back from a work course in Birmingham in time to play and manager Paul Doswell admitted: "We've got a bit of a crisis in the back line.

"The good news is that Lee Bright is back now which offsets some of our problems, but I fear we've lost Chris for somewhere between six and eight weeks.

"We toyed with the idea of asking Le Tiss to play at sweeper, but we weren't too sure!"

Co-assistant boss David Hughes also returns to the fray tonight having missed the 3-1 win at Cowes through family commitments.

The ex-Saint is a big buddy of Le Tissier's and was instrumental in getting the former England player involved with the Ten Acres club.

Having already turned out for Eastleigh in a friendly against Bashley and in the Hampshire Senior Cup against Newport, Le Tissier wasn't expected to make his Wessex League debut until the Whitchurch match on December 21.

But Doswell revealed: "Matt actually rang us last Friday to say he'd be available to play against Totton - that's what a good lad he is."