Crucial Athlone midfielder could miss weeks of action

Athlone Town could be without key midfielder Brian McManus for a number of weeks, according to manager Ian Ryan.

McManus, who has shone in Athlone's opening 14 games of the season, picked up a hip injury in the early stages of last Monday's Airtricity League First Division draw against Longford Town. And he could now face a period on the sidelines.

“It was a big blow to lose Brian so early in the game (against Longford), and I think it impacted on how we played for the remainder of the game. I'd expect him to miss a couple of weeks,” said Ryan, whose side look to return to winning ways at home to Treaty Utd on Friday night (7.45pm).

Aaron Connolly also remains on the treatment table and is unlikely to feature until after the mid-season break. Striker Peter Grogan also continues to miss out as he continues to recover from a dislocated knee. However, there's better news on Thomas Considine, who was forced off after 68 minutes against Longford on his first start for the club. Considine missed the bulk of the season to date after suffering a broken toe in pre-season.

“Thomas had a really good game and it was just cramp because he's missed a lot of training,” Ryan confirmed.

Having drawn with Kerry last Friday, at home, and followed that up with another share of the spoils with Longford, Ryan feels his team will be in for another tough encounter against Treaty Utd. The visitors currently sit bottom of the table but picked up four points from their two fixtures over the Bank Holiday weekend.

They also defeated Athlone earlier in the season at Markets Field.

“People might say Treaty have been struggling but they certainly havent been of late,” Ryan said.

“They are difficult opponents and they will sit deep and cause problems on the break. We are holding our own in the division and it's the best start to a season that Athlone has had for a good while. So, we want to continue that and push on,” he added.

Athlone currently occupy fourth position in the First Division with 21 points from 14 matches.

Meanwhile, the Athlone Town women's team take a break from league action this weekend when they travel north to face Cliftonville in the All-Island Cup group stages (Solitude, Belfast, 2pm). Athlone won the opening match of Group C when beating Cork City.