Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton admits he could be without key duo Brian Healy and Luke Conlan for Saturday’s Irish Cup quarter-final trip to Loughgall with the pair recovering from muscle injuries picked up last weekend.

January recruit Healy has enjoyed a solid start to life at Solitude, scoring four goals in his first eight Premiership matches for the Reds, while the 21-year-old also netted on debut in an Irish Cup triumph over Dundela.

Across all competitions for previous club H&W Welders and current one Cliftonville, Healy has struck 30 times in 36 matches this term.

Conlan only returned from a six-month injury absence on February 21, marking the occasion by scoring in his side’s 5-2 win over North Belfast rivals Crusaders.

placeholder image — Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton. (Photo by David Maginnis/Pacemaker Press)

Both Healy and Conlan picked up their respective issues during last Sunday’s 2-0 triumph against defending league champions Linfield – a result which strengthened Cliftonville’s grasp on a top-half position.

The duo were absent for Wednesday night’s 2-0 win at Portadown and are in a race against time to feature at Lakeview Park on Saturday.

Key midfielder Harry Wilson has also missed Cliftonville’s last three matches and Magilton admits it’s been to hard to get consistency in terms of team selection across recent weeks.

“Every manager and every club have injuries and that has an effect because consistency is key and team selection is key,” Magilton told the club’s website. “We lost Luke Conlan and Brian Healy after the Linfield game last Sunday.

"Both have muscle injuries that ruled them out of Wednesday night at Portadown and we don’t know if they’re going to be fit for Saturday.

“We lost two players to injury at Dungannon a few weeks ago, then Kyle McClelland picked up a long-term problem in training, then we lost Harry Wilson after the Crusaders game so it’s obviously hard for us to get that consistency.

"We’re utilising the group and the one thing about them is that they’re all chomping at the bit to play.”

Magilton still hasn’t lost an Irish Cup match in normal time throughout his Cliftonville reign, guiding the Reds to glory in 2023/24 before they were denied on penalties by Dungannon Swifts in last season’s final.

On paper, coming up against a Championship team presents a prime opportunity to seal progression, but Magilton insists he isn’t taking anything for granted with the Villagers afforded full respect.

“We have to be really focused and our attitude and character will be put to the test,” he added. “I watched Loughgall last week and they’re going to give us problems but we have to come out and cope with those problems and come up with a few answers.

“We never, ever underestimate any opposition. We give every opposition the respect they deserve and we’re going to do that again.”