DEFENDER Martin McIntosh could be ruled out of Town's promotion push for a month.
The 34-year-old (pictured) suffered a hamstring injury in the warm-up to Saturday's match at Port Vale and lasted only 17 minutes in the 1-1 draw which pushed Town second.
A scan has revealed a slight tear in his left hamstring and he's now under intensive treatment from physio Lee Martin.
"It is only a small tear, but we anticipate he'll be out for two to four weeks depending on how he responds to treatment," said manager Peter Jackson today.
"Obviously it's not good news because Tosh has been playing well and we're very disappointed to lose him at such a vital stage of the season."
David Mirfin is in line to start Saturday's high-pressure derby against Barnsley at the Galpharm after deputising for McIntosh at Vale Park.
Teenager Tom Clarke also returned to full training yesterday and suffered no adverse reaction, so Jackson has further back-up at centre-back.
The manager admitted, however, he's still concerned about a couple of illness-hit players - David Graham and Andy Holdsworth.
"David returned to training yesterday after missing the Vale match and having a pretty bad weekend, but I wouldn't say he was 100% by any means," said Jackson. "He looked a bit drained still, so we'll have to keep an eye on him, and it's much the same with Andy.
"He complained of feeling unwell during Saturday's match and he wasn't able to train yesterday, so we'll monitor him over the next couple of days with a view towards Saturday."
Town fans should note tickets are selling quickly for Saturday's match - it's all ticket in the John Smith's, Panasonic, and Lawrence Batley lower tier - and people should buy early.
The ticket office will be open until 7.30pm tonight because of the England v Italy Under 17 international at the stadium.
