Keith Curle's defensive options assessed ahead of Hartlepool United's trip to Stevenage

Hartlepool return to League Two action when they take on high-flying Stevenage and interim manager Curle has something of an injury crisis on his hands ahead of the long trip south. Curle saw defender Alex Lacey forced off in the FA Cup first round draw with Solihull Moors with a potentially serious injury while full-back David Ferguson did not make the trip, adding to their injury woes.

They join a long line of players currently unavailable with no word as to whether any will make their return to face Stevenage. It gives Curle a problem, particularly in defence, where he finds himself desperately short on numbers.

So what are Curle’s options? Here, at The Mail, we assess what alternatives Curle has available to him ahead of his team selection at the Lamex Stadium.

Who is likely to be missing for the trip to Stevenage?

With Ferguson’s training ground injury, and Lacey’s impact injury against Solihull, the number of injuries as things stand tallies at eight first team players, with the majority of those impacting defenders.

Lacey and Ferguson join Jamie Sterry and Rollin Menayese, while Brody Paterson was also not involved against Solihull, with Mouhamed Niang, Mark Shelton and Tom Crawford also out.

Will any of them return?

With Curle reluctant to give much away about the injuries to his players it remains unclear as to how many, if any, of those injured players will return to face Stevenage.

Menayese’s second scan provided some positive news in that there were no further issues, but his return could still be a couple of weeks away, while Sterry continues to deal with a calf problem.

Midfield trio Shelton (calf), Niang (hamstring) and Crawford (ankle) all seem unlikely to return with Paterson’s absence not explained, although the squad have been dealing with illness recently so he may return for the trip to the Lamex, while Curle told The Mail ‘hopefully not’ when asked whether Ferguson’s injury is serious.

The way Lacey walked off the field at the Armco Arena, with his arm wrapped up in his shirt, would suggest he may struggle to make the turnaround in a week - even if the injury has been revealed to be less serious than it appeared.

So what can Pools expect?

The inclusion of academy trio Louis Stephenson, Campbell Darcy and Joe Kitching is something which may continue - the caveat being that one, or more, could be handed a start.

Stephenson and Darcy are both defenders by trade which means should neither of Sterry, Menayese, Lacey, Ferguson or Paterson return then the likelihood is one of them may have to feature against Stevenage. Darcy captained the Pools academy side in their FA youth cup tie with Accrington Stanley while Stephenson has already been named in two League Two squads.

Beyond that, Curle is very much in the square pegs in round holes territory. We’ve already seen Clarke Oduor utilised in a left-sided defensive role which may well continue at the Lamex.

If Curle desires an extra body in the heart of defence could we see Mohamad Sylla drop back there? It’s something we’ve seen from midfielder Niang and Sylla could, at least, add some physicality and presence alongside Euan Murray if necessary.