Brackley Town injury woes mount ahead of Rochdale visit - as 'set-piece specialist' forced off

Ryan Haynes became the latest Brackley Town player to suffer an injury as he was forced off during the Saints’ 2-0 defeat to Altrincham on Saturday.

The left-back, whose 30-yard rocket in the first half forced a fingertip save onto the bar from Altrincham goalkeeper Luke Hutchinson, went down in the 50th minute and couldn’t continue.

Brackley Town left-back Ryan Haynes was forced off with a hamstring injury during the 2-0 Enterprise National League loss to Altrincham. (Picture credit: Pete Keen).

placeholder image — Brackley Town left-back Ryan Haynes was forced off with a hamstring injury during the 2-0 Enterprise National League loss to Altrincham. (Picture credit: Pete Keen).

At first, it was unclear whether Haynes had injured his knee or hamstring - or whether the issue was an impact injury or a muscular one - but it was revealed to be the latter.

It’s a big blow for Brackley, not least because Haynes is a tidy defender, but also as he’s the team’s left-footed set-piece specialist.

Haynes whipped in a succession of great corners on the weekend, while he went close with a long-range free-kick. If he’s out for a while, he will be quite the miss for the Saints.

Head coach Andy Whing confirmed Haynes’ injury to the Banbury Guardian after Saturday’s defeat, though he wasn’t sure how long the defender would be out for.

“It looked like a hamstring injury. I’m not holding my breath that it will be a good one,” Whing said.

On the general shape of the squad, Whing added: “It’s disappointing that we had a sending-off on Tuesday, we had an injury last Saturday, another injury today.

“It was the same at Southend last week with Byron Pendleton going off. We lost Scotty Pollock, we had a sending-off on Tuesday, we had Haynsey go off today.

“It keeps changing the game when we’re in flow.”

Brackley adjusted their shape on the weekend, as Whing deployed a back four rather than the usual three with wing-backs. The boss may be forced to revert to a three if he doesn’t find a suitable replacement for Haynes.

One boost, at least, is that Birmingham City loanee Pendleton could be back in time for either the visit to Rochdale this Tuesday or the trip to Boreham Wood at the weekend.

The right-back, who can also play as a wing-back or right midfielder, has made 23 National League appearances so far this season.