Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick confirms Dan Dodds believed to have suffered hamstring injury
Hartlepool United head coach Anthony Limbrick has confirmed Dan Dodds suffered a suspected hamstring injury eight minutes into Saturday's draw with play-off chasing Eastleigh.
The defender was sent off 15 minutes into the reverse fixture back in November and lasted even less time at the weekend as his miserable season continued when he trudged off on his first start in almost a month.
It's been a challenging campaign for the 24-year-old, who has struggled for both form and fitness this term. Dodds made an instant impression after signing for Pools from rivals Darlington in January 2023 but missed almost all of last season after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury. He returned on the opening day of the new campaign, playing 89 minutes of the win over Yeovil, but missed the next seven matches with a hamstring problem. His progress has been stop-start since then, with Dodds making 23 National League appearances so far this season.
The defender endured a difficult night on the right of a back three against Tamworth last month and was taken off at half time. He then picked up a head injury that ruled him out for a couple of weeks before being omitted from the squad to take on title-chasing York despite being available for selection. Following a cameo from the bench against Fylde in midweek, Dodds was back in the side on Saturday but limped off after just eight minutes to be replaced by teenager Louis Stephenson.
"It was a hamstring," Limbrick told BBC Radio Tees Sport.
"He just stretched for a ball and I think he rolled his foot along the top of the ball, so he might have stretched his hamstring - he said it was his hamstring.
"It's too early to see with that one. The positive with that one is that it hasn't come from him just purely running to then pull the hamstring, it's from a different sort of incident. I'd have to see it again, but the information that I've got is that it was a half-challenge where he's gone over the top of the ball and the ball has sort of rolled and stretched his leg out. Hopefully it's not too bad but he wasn't able to continue.
"I thought Louis Stephenson came on and did really well. He's another good young player, he was absolutely at it non-stop. He could have had an assist with the cross that he put in for Joe (Grey), who should have probably scored there. I was really pleased for Louis."