LUCKLESS goalkeeper Andy Warrington admitted to being 'gutted' as he faced exile until the New Year.

The City number one will be missing from duty for at least six weeks after suffering a triple fracture of his right hand.

Warrington revealed that he suffered the major damage in the early stages of the FA Cup first round replay win over Enfield.

He explained that when punching a ball clear his hand rapped against the head of an opponent which resulted in breaking three bones.

Warrington was today seeing a specialist to determine if the damaged area may yet have to be pinned with metal screws to speed his recovery."I'm gutted," sighed the 22-year-old goalkeeper.

"I had only just got back in the team and we'd just got our first win for such a long while and then this happens.

"I remember going for the punch and getting the ball well clear. But the follow-through caught an Enfield player on the back of his head.

"I thought it was bruising and for the two days after the game I 'iced' the hand. It seemed okay."

However, when Warrington returned to training on the eve of the Northampton visit the first impact made by the ball confirmed the hand was badly damaged.

"It just came up like a balloon and I went to hospital to get it 'X'-rayed.

"It showed three bones had been broken. I just couldn't believe it," said Warrington, whose place against Northampton was taken by Bobby Mimms whom he had displaced as number one six games before.

With Warrington's enforced absence City are staring at a selection crisis for their FA Cup tie at Wrexham in five days' time.

City have only 15 senior outfield players to pick from for Saturday's trip to north Wales, and unable to bring in new blood as the FA Cup seven-day deadline has expired.

If none of the seven stricken players currently receiving treatment do not recover this week then City may not even have enough bodies to fill the complement of five substitutes for the tie.

"Luckily this is a dead week without any games," said manager Alan Little. "But already I think we are struggling to have any of the seven injured players back in time for the FA Cup game."

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