Hartlepool United sweating over fitness of goalkeeper Trevor Carson

The Northern Irishman was forced to withdraw from the side who registered a creditable 2-2 draw at Accrington last night due to a long standing shoulder problem.

And Carson, who is rated as a major doubt for Saturday’s visit of Grimsby, is set to be assessed by the club’s medical staff this week.

Should he need an op on the injury, it could be a matter of weeks, rather than days on the sidelines.

Hopes are high that Carson will not need to go under the knife, although it’s understood that no decision will be made on that until later this week.

The injury is not a new one - manager Craig Hignett confirmed that the problem has been troubling the goalie for some time.

And despite soldiering on between the sticks, Carson eventually succumbed to the pain this week, with Adam Bartlett stepping in at Stanley.

“Trev’s shoulder is troubling him,” said Hignett.

“He has been struggling with the problem for a while now.

“It has just got a little bit too much for him.

“We will have him looked at this week.”

Reflecting on the game itself Hignett says the game brought joy and despair in equal measure.

As delighted as he was with rescuing a late point, he was just as angry with his player’s gifting of two goals to the opposition.

He said: “I am pleased because we went behind twice and managed to get a point, but not best pleased because we gave away two really good goals.

“We are a little disappointed we have went home with a point because of the goals we conceded.

“We said at half time that one could win it and we wanted it. Defensively we looked fine again, but we are pleased to show character and spirit to come back with something form the game.

“Conceding and their heads could have gone, but we responded and responded well. When new passed the ball we did it well and it’s disappointing we didn’t do it more often.”

Consistency has been a real issue for Pools so far this season.

Despite a recent run of results, Hignett believes his squad are still searching for that.

“Until we stop conceding daft goals we will not be consistent and I want a consistent team,” he said.

“Until we start defending and becoming hard to beat, nasty and aggressive then we will find ourselves in this sort of situation.”

This week brought some early movement in the transfer market for Pools, with Toto Nsiala securing a pretty remarkable move to League One Shrewsbury Town, especially given his awful recent form at the Northern Gas & Power Stadium.

It is understood Pools got around £24,000 for the player, and Hignett is not finished there in the winter market.

He expects to sign a replacement in the coming days.

Although, he expects it to be a loan.

““Toto goes with our best wishes,” said the manager on the recent departure.

“It didn’t work out for him here and we look for replacements.

“There is a player in there somewhere and we wish him all the best in his move. We will move on.”