Stephen Baxter fears former Glentoran midfielder 'could be staring down the barrel of another operation'
Carrick Rangers manager Stephen Baxter fears midfielder Seanan Clucas “could be staring down the barrel of another operation” after picking up a knee injury.
Former Glentoran ace Clucas missed almost four months of the current campaign with a knee issue before making his return in November and played 86 minutes on Boxing Day against Larne, but hasn’t featured again since.
Clucas’ latest injury setback is on the other knee to which he required surgery last year and Carrick are still awaiting to see just how long their key midfielder will be sidelined for.
Baxter is dealing with a number of injuries to important players – goalkeeper Nathan Gartside is currently out of action due to a thigh injury while winger Ryan Waide is suffering from a back problem.
Nedas Maciulaitis and Ethan Boyle are amongst Carrick’s long-term absentees, meaning Baxter has had to look to the January transfer market with Mikey Place, Matthew Olosunde and Lorcan Donnelly arriving so far this month.
The Carrick chief, who watched his side draw 0-0 with Linfield on Tuesday evening, is continuing to assess his options and hopes to land another signing in the coming days.
"Probably the only good news on the horizon is we will probably see Kyle Cherry back, if not in a week’s time then maybe two,” Baxter told the club’s media channel. “That hamstring has started to heal up well.
"Ryan Waide has a difficult back injury, a bit of a slipped disc. He came off after five minutes in one of the games recently and he has been in absolute agony – it’s difficult when you get an injury like that.
"Seanan Clucas has had a setback with his knee, it’s the other knee to which he had an operation on last year and missed six months. We could be staring down the barrel of another operation on the other knee.
"It’s really difficult for him, I feel so sorry for him, but that’s football and you lose big players at crunch times.
"Nedas (Maciulaitis) is out long-term with an ACL and Ethan Boyle is doing really well in his rehab, but it’s probably at least two months before we see him on the football pitch.
"Nathan ruptured a thigh muscle against Crusaders and we’re probably looking at anything from 4-10 weeks with that injury, you just don’t know with a big bleed in that leg and we’re waiting for further scan results.
"That’s why we had to move quickly to bring Lorcan Donnelly in and he’s a very good young goalkeeper, we’re delighted to have him here.
"There’s lots going on behind the scenes. We brought three players in and I think I’ve been on the phone for a week-and-a-half – my wife is sick looking at me with my phone stuck to my ear from morning to night.
"You’re still trying to bring one or two more in if we can. Getting those deals over the line is very difficult at this time of year, but we’re hopeful of maybe landing one soon if we can, in the next day or two, which would give us more help going forward.”