Dave Challinor provides timescales for Hartlepool United's injures players with FIVE still sidelined

Luke James (groin), Michael Raynes (thigh), Fraser Kerr (back), Adam Bale (knee) and Luke Williams (hamstring) are all expected to be out for the at least another month.

“We’re pretty much as we were, no one is out, no one is back in the fold,” Challinor said.

“Gav comes back into contention but we’re otherwise how we were last weekend.

“Raynesy is certainly on track to be back training at the end of February.

“Fraser is back running and things but has a little issue flexing with his back.

“But aside from that, he’s in a pretty good state and a frustrating one for him is that he can do lots of things but one little thing could potentially set him back so we need to be careful with him.

“Bale, being honest, I’d be guessing if I said how long he may be out. It’s a strange one, he’s had surgery previously and we think it’s an issue related to that.

“Day by day, week by week, well see how it progresses and treat it based on what we think it is and hope it settles.

“I can’t give a timescale on him. I think he’ll back before the end of the season but he probably won’t be back in the next three or four weeks.

“Luke Williams is progressing quite well and running, it’s just a case of him getting his hamstring deficiency in his left leg back in line with the right one before we start pushing him on.

“It’s probably a little bit of a running joke here that when someone asks about Luke Williams, the answer is, two weeks. Those two weeks seem to have lasted since the start of January!

“That’s where you hope to be but it’s really monitoring that on a weekly basis, he has tests to see the discrepancy and hopefully that’s getting closer and closer to healing so that he’s really confident for us to hammer him and get him back involved.”