THE curse of the York City captain's armband could have struck again with Jamie Price the latest casualty.

Price, who has deputised as skipper in the absence of injured trio Mark Hotte, Nathan Peat and Emmanuel Panther, has been receiving treatment this week for an abdominal problem.

The Minstermen binned the last armband for superstitious reasons after it claimed wearers Hotte, Peat and Panther as victims.

Hotte fractured his shoulder, Peat broke his leg and Panther suffered ankle ligament damage while performing their captaincy duties and Price appears to have fared little better with the armband's replacement.

Graeme Law has also injured his ankle in a training ground incident, which could leave the Minstermen short of right-back options ahead of next Saturday's trip to Hereford United.

Midfield talisman Panther, who is recovering from ankle ligament damage, might have seen his comeback schedule set back after missing training to return to Scotland for family reasons.

McEwan was attending a match today, with his most likely destination Edgar Street, where Hereford are entertaining Stockport in the second round of the FA Cup.

The City manager has given his players the weekend off in the absence of a fixture and said: "They need a couple of days off to get over niggles and knocks."

Updated: 08:50 Saturday, December 03, 2005