Workington Reds joint manager Dave Hewson says his side have been dealt a blow after midfielder Joe McGee was ruled out for a "considerable" amount of time with an elbow injury.

The news comes just hours before they are due to take on Ashton United at Borough Park (ko 7.45pm).

McGee suffered the injury during his side's 2-1 win over Warrington at the weekend and the management team have been sweating on the results of a scan.

The 23-year-old went to a fracture clinic after the game, but would have missed the Ashton game anyway through suspension.

But Hewson admitted that his side will be without McGee, who has dislocated his elbow, for at least two weeks.

Hewson said: "It's a massive blow. He's such an important player for us especially when he starts hitting top form.

"He's one of the best players to have. It's a big disappointment and I know he's gutted, down and disappointed.

"Joe is gutted to be missing games and hopefully he can concentrate on getting himself back as quickly as he can."

The management trio will once again have to manage without long-term absentees Gari Rowntree and Anthony Wright and Josh Calvert is also unavailable.

Hewson revealed that the club are still searching for new players, but they were unlikely to get anyone in time for today's match.

Last season's fixture at Borough Park in January against Ashton finished 5-2 to Reds with Conor Tinnion bagging a hat-trick and Scott Allison netting twice.

Reds go into the match on the back of an impressive 2-1 away win against high-flying Warrington which halted a four-game winless run in all competitions.

The victory took them up to 14th with games in hand on all the current top seven sides.

Young winger Robbie Hebson is eyeing up a starting place after coming off the bench against Warrington.

Hebson said: "I thought Saturday was a really good win. It was nice to get some minutes.

"It was a great three points for the lads and I was really happy. Tonight is going to be a difficult game, but we're up for the challenge.

"The confidence among the squad is brilliant."