Hartlepool United injury news: Lee Clark provides Cam John, Maxim Kouogun & Corey McKeown update
Hartlepool United team and injury news ahead of visit of Woking on Saturday (KO 3pm).
Lee Clark is hoping to have some key players back for Hartlepool United for the weekend visit of Woking.
Pools, on a three-game losing streak, had Neo Eccleston, Maxim Kouogun (ankle) and Corey McKeown (foot) missing for the midweek defeat to Halifax Town in the National League.
Eccleston is definitely back after serving a one-match suspension while Clark is hoping to also be able to call upon winger McKeown and defender Kouogun. The Pools boss was speaking at his pre-match press conference at Maiden Castle in the aftermath of another defeat for Pools, it is now three defeats on the spin with a 1-0 loss away at Halifax Town.
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Clark said: "So, Corey and Max aren't ruled out, they'll be assessed today [Thursday] with the medical department and then see if they're available to train with us tomorrow on the grass, Friday. So they're not ruled out, we're hopeful because with them being kicks and twists they can recover quickly. Sometimes it is difficult to put a timescale on them type of things, especially with Corey's where he's took a whack on the top of his foot.
"He's had an x-ray, that's clear. It's just the symptoms now because obviously with him being on the top of his foot where he's needing to strike the ball or going for a tackle, we need that to be nigh on perfect. Same with Max with his ankle, he just tweaked that as he landed from an aerial duel.
"Neo's coming back obviously from his suspension so we'll go from there and then young Charlie Thornton's put himself in the mix."
Luke Charman and Owen Hampson remain longer-term injuries for Pools. Clark added: "They're progressing well but still being way off because they basically need to do their own personal pre-seasons but the rest of it is looking quite positive," he told BBC Tees Sport.
On defender Cam John, Clark added: "Cam got a whack on his calf, which turned into a dead calf. The medical department seemed to think that that's put him a little bit off balance and he's started affecting his groin area, so he was getting a bit of pain in there, so that's why he had to come off. "We're hoping that he'll be able to settle down."
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