Dave Challinor reveals mixed injury news on Hartlepool United duo Joe Grey and Ryan Johnson

Challinor has backed Grey to bounce back strongly next season.

Pools are still chasing promotion back to the EFL and host play-off rivals Notts County on Saturday.

Challinor has also revealed the latest on Ryan Johnson who is certainly facing a few weeks out but Challinor hasn’t ruled him out still playing a part before the end of the season.

On Grey, Challinor said: “We got the results of his CT scan and unfortunately our fears are realised and he’s got a stress fracture in his back.

"He’s had three, four weeks off and he’s probably got another six weeks to go but in reality, that’s him for the season.

"Just because we feared it, we knew we had to be careful and we’ve spoke to Joe about his keenness to do well but at his age, it was always a potential fear.

"I’ve spoken to him and he’s not too down, he’s obviously disappointed but the big one for him is next year.

"Unfortunately, his opportunity has been taken away this year almost from him being so keen to do too much.

"It’ll be a learning experience for him and he’ll come back stronger and be able to have a big impact for us next season.”

On Johnson, Challinor added: “He’s had a scan. It’s good news and bad news.

"He has got a partial tear in his PCL but it’s not a rupture so he’ll be in a brace for a couple of weeks.

"We’ve just got to deal with his symptoms and see how quickly he settles down.

"I spoke to him and he’s in less pain, his swelling has reduced and he’s got more movement.

"We’ll have to see where he is, I’d say he’s going to be at least a few weeks and if we’re being really pessimistic it might be six weeks but it could be four.

"We’ll just have to wait and see and we’ll deal with that and decide on whether we need to bring in cover in those areas. If we do then we’ll look at what options there are out there for us.”

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