Where was Josh Hawkes against Harrogate Town? Why the Hartlepool United midfielder could be facing a spell on the sidelines

The young midfielder had started seven consecutive matches before dropping to the bench against Barrow last Saturday.

But with Hawkes enjoying a decent run of form in the side, his complete absence from the matchday squad against Harrogate was conspicuous.

“Josh has had a slight issue since before I arrived around his groin adductors,” Pools boss Dave Challinor explained.

“He obviously came off in the Harrogate Trophy game and he’s getting a bit of pain around his groin region. Whether there’s early signs of a hernia or something like that, we don’t know so we’re obviously having him looked at.

“Hopefully it will be a case of managing him, taking him out for a little bit, things settling down and him being able to get back involved. We’ll get some investigations done and see where we’re at.”