YORK City centre-back Djoumin Sangare could be sidelined for up to a month after injuring his groin at the weekend.

Sangare limped off during the second half of City’s 3-1 defeat at Crawley Town and has been ruled out of Saturday’s FA Cup home tie with Crewe.

The popular Frenchman, dubbed Jimmy by City fans, is also set to play no part in the home clashes with Chester and Ebbsfleet during the next ten days and might be missing until December.

City chief Martin Foyle said: “Jimmy has a sore groin and it’s very hard to put a time-scale on how long he will be out, but it could be two, three or four weeks.

“We’ve got to let it settle down first and then see how he is.”

Foyle could now be faced with a defensive headache ahead of Saturday’s first round tie as David McGurk has yet to train this week having failed to recover from the virus that weakened City’s squad against Crawley.

But Daniel Parslow and right- back Ben Purkiss, who was unable to make the trip to West Sussex, have both recovered along with the other three stricken players Neil Barrett, Craig Nelthorpe and Adam Smith.

No new cases of the illness have yet been reported either, but Foyle added: “It’s still early in the week so that might change, but Ben Purkiss is training.

“He’s still coughing and spluttering but we are nursing him through with little, short sessions.

“David McGurk has not been in which is a bit of a concern, but hopefully he will be back tomorrow because all the other players feel better now.”

The City boss is yet to recall Alan O’Hare from his loan spell at Gainsborough Trinity, but is expected to do so in time for him to take his place on the bench against Crewe.

Ex-Mansfield defender O’Hare would also be in line to make his City debut should McGurk prove too ill to figure.

Striker Richard Pacquette will return to the squad as well after recovering from a pulled thigh muscle and Foyle will welcome his availability, saying: “Richard has done a lot of running and is okay now. “He’s ready to join in and I could have done with somebody like him on Saturday as we looked a bit tired.”

• Kingsley Wetherald’s extra -ime goal earned York City a 2-1 first round FA Youth Cup victory at Grimsby Town last night. In-form striker Wetherald pounced in the second period of extra-time after a poor clearance by the Mariners’ keeper. Midfielder Michael Duckworth had earlier given the Minstermites a fifth minute lead but the home side struck back from a corner on the stroke of half-time.

Steve Torpey’s teenagers will now meet the winners of tonight’s Accrington Stanley versus Carlise tie at Bootham Crescent later this month.


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