PAUL Carden admits the current injury situation at Warrington Town is “a major concern” but is keen for his side not to use it as an excuse.

Yellows were missing six key players for Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at Ashton United, with Wigan loanee James Barrigan also having to come off injured at half time.

Midfielder Liam Hynes (knee) and defender Shaun Beeley (broken leg) are long-term absentees, while Brad Barnes (rib), Dylan Vassallo (back), Tony Gray and Jamie McDonald (both hamstring) are also missing.

Of the injured players, only striker McDonald is due back for the trip to Barwell today, kick off 3pm.

“It is a major concern. If you look at the players who are missing, they would probably all start,” Carden said.

“We probably won’t see Liam Hynes again this season and Shaun Beeley will do well to be back before Christmas.

“Brad Barnes is as and when with his rib injury, but he’s not even standing up properly at the moment.

“We’re waiting for a scan on Dylan Vassallo as well, but with any luck Tony Gray will only be out for a couple more weeks and Jamie McDonald should be back on Saturday.

“Jamie wanted to play on Tuesday, but I couldn’t risk him. The rest of the season is more important than one game.

“Even with those injuries, we like to think we would have enough to still be winning games and maintaining momentum. We can’t use it as an excuse.”

Saturday’s 2-1 win over Whitby Town had sent Yellows to the top of the Evo-Stik Premier Division, but Tuesday’s first league loss away from home dropped them back to third.

Yellows’ next outing sees them travel to a Barwell side that have an impressive home record, including a victory over leaders Shaw Lane on Saturday.

However, Carden says his side are keen to use the game to ensure Tuesday’s loss was merely “a bump in the road.”

“It doesn’t surprise me that Barwell are up there,” Carden said.

“We had two tough games against them last season. They are a tight-knit squad and not much has changed.

“This league is unpredictable and anyone can beat anyone else on their day.

“Before Tuesday night, we were on a good run of form and we were putting in good performances.

“We can’t lose sight of that and we need to get back to what we were doing to make sure Ashton was just a bump in the road.”

After a trip to Barwell, Yellows hit the road again on Tuesday when they travel to Colwyn Bay in the Integro League Cup, kick-off 7.45pm.