Huddersfield Town boss Mark Robins hopes to know by the end of today just how long leading scorer James Vaughan is likely to be sidelined – and has challenged other players to step up and make an impact.

The 25-year-old striker “felt his calf pop” before being substituted in Tuesday night’s 3-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest at the John Smith’s Stadium.

The injury was allowed to settle during yesterday and Town’s medical team will carry out a further assessment today.

The manager already expects to be without Vaughan when Town travel to face Lee Clark’s Birmingham City at St Andrews on Saturday and it’s feared the 12-goal marksman could be sidelined for a spell.

It’s two and a half months since Vaughan scored the last of his goals this season in the 2-1 home win over Burnley on November 30 and, since then, he has featured in only seven matches because of suspension and a knee injury.

This latest problem is a worry with Town having lost on five of their last six outings since back-to-back wins against Grimsby (FA Cup) and Millwall.

“It’s not ideal, but it looks like he will be out for a period of time,” said Robins of the injury.

“It’s a chance for someone to come in and make their mark.”

Record signing Nahki Wells was replaced by Martin Paterson on Tuesday after Danny Ward had gone on for Vaughan, while Sean Scannell went on for Oliver Norwood and can also play up front.

Winger Joe Lolley could also be used to bolster the forward ranks after being left off the bench against Forest – he was once on the Birmingham City Academy books – and Robins has others waiting in the wings, such as Cristian Lopez, Harry Bunn and Danny Carr (under treatment).

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