Hartlepool United injury status: When Keith Curle can expect the returns of Livingston loan striker, ex-Partick Thistle midfielder and ex-Notts County defender

The postponed fixture with Newport County was a blow in that it denied Hartlepool the chance to build on their first away win of the season at Crawley Town.

But ahead of what is notoriously a busy period in football as we head into Christmas and the New Year, with Pools still in the FA Cup, the week break may see Curle be able to welcome back more options into his squad.

And here, at The Mail, we take a look at Hartlepool’s injury list and what comes next.

Jamie Sterry

Jamie Sterry made his long-awaited return to first team action in the win over Crawley and put in an exemplary display in the process.

The 27-year-old look assured defensively and offered a threat going forward as part of a back five with Pools boss Curle praising the impact of the former Newcastle United full-back’s return.

Sterry showed no signs of the calf injury, which had kept him out for seven weeks, troubling him with the hope now being he can get a prolonged run in the team injury-free.

Mark Shelton

Like Sterry, Mark Shelton was also back involved with the first team at the Broadfield Stadium.

Unlike Sterry, however, Shelton remained an unused substitute.

Shelton suffered a similar calf muscle injury as Sterry when coming off early in the 2-1 defeat at Swindon Town back in October and appears to have followed a similar time-frame as the defender who pulled up in training just days prior to that Swindon defeat.

The extra period off leading into Boxing Day’s trip to Rochdale should allow for any potential fears of a setback with Shelton to be ruled out.

Jack Hamilton

One player who will certainly benefit from the extra week is loan striker Jack Hamilton.

Hamilton was brought off midway through the win over Crawley having suffered a head injury in the early stages of the contest.

Hamilton could be seen, at times, struggling following the impact injury before eventually being brought off for Joe Grey.

The early signs suggested Hamilton may have been another player to be subjected to the concussion protocol after both Grey and Mouhamed Niang have dealt with similar injuries earlier in the season.

But boss Curle suggested afterwards Hamilton should be OK.

“He’s alright. He just took a little bump on the head,” Curle told The Mail.

“Throughout his career he’s going to have a few of them.”

And with what will now be a 17-day period between being taken off and Hartlepool’s Boxing day clash at Rochdale, Hamilton should immediately be back in contention.

Mouhamed Niang

As mentioned, Niang is another who has suffered with concussion this season after being forced off in Curle’s first game in charge against Gillingham back in September.

But it’s not concussion Niang is dealing with currently after the midfielder picked up a hamstring problem upon his league return.

The 23-year-old featured in the Papa Johns Trophy nightmare against Everton under-21s, perhaps more as a tune up, ahead of the league fixture at Swindon where he too would be forced off early clutching at his hamstring.

Speaking ahead of England’s World Cup knockout tie with Senegal earlier this month, Niang revealed he did not require surgery on the injury and that he was hopeful of a return soon.

“I’ve had a terrible last two months. But hopefully I’m near returning and I’ll be back helping the boys,” said Niang.

“I had the hamstring injury when I was just starting to feel good again so it was really frustrating.

“There’s been days where you just don't want to speak to anyone because it’s been so frustrating, because it was quite bad, but luckily I didn’t need surgery so I’ll be back soon.”

Curle revealed Niang was back involved in training ahead of the trip to Crawley but was a little shy of being 'game ready.'

As with most muscle injuries, and given how cautious Pools were with Sterry’s return, you would suspect they will take as long as necessary to ensure Niang does not suffer a setback.

With Niang not requiring surgery it is reasonable to suggest he has not suffered a completely torn hamstring which can take several months to heal.

A grade two tear can likely take anywhere between four and eight weeks to recover from which would put Niang in contention to face Rochdale given that would mark over nine weeks since coming off against Swindon.

Kyle Letheren

Back-up goalkeeper Kyle Letheren was back among the substitutes in recent weeks having missed the FA Cup second round tie with Harrogate Town with a back injury.

Letheren, while largely considered as part of the coaching staff, offers an option should Ben Killip pick up an injury which recently led to the emergency loan signing of Fleetwood Town stopper Alex Cairns.

Letheren has made one appearance for Hartlepool in the 6-0 thrashing by Everton under-21s.

Alex Lacey

One of the more longer-term absentees is centre-back Alex Lacey.

The defender landed awkwardly in the closing stages of the FA Cup first round tie at Solihull Moors in November where he was forced off supporting his arm in a makeshift sling with his shirt which Curle later confirmed as a dislocated shoulder.

Speaking recently to The Mail on injuries Curle said: “We’ve got players coming closer and closer to being made available. We’ve still got a couple of players where we’ll have to wait another period of time and by that time, when they come back in to be available, the transfer window will be open whereby the opportunity widens again.”

And Lacey is likely to be one of those in the latter category.

Lacey was without a sling soon after the injury with Curle also revealing the shoulder had gone back in place as the club awaited results of a scan.

Lacey, it is believed, has since been involved in light training sessions without contact whilst also completing a number of community exercises such as the recent signing session at the Suit Direct Stadium.

Lacey is still likely to be a number of weeks from a full return to action with a general prognosis being around 12-16 weeks recovery time which would mean Pools could be without the 29-year-old until after the close of the January transfer window if that were to be the case.

Tom Crawford

Midfielder Tom Crawford remains the biggest long-term injury within the Hartlepool squad after undergoing surgery on an ankle problem which had been plaguing him for several months.

Crawford revealed he had been dealing with the issue since the end of last season but carried on for the opening three months of the campaign.

Like Niang and Shelton, Crawford picked up a knock in the defeat at Swindon and, although he was able to complete the full 90 minutes, it was decided the time was right to resolve his persistent problem.

Curle told The Mail he hoped Crawford would be available for the latter part of the season which means we are unlikely to see the 23-year-old until the spring.