A hospital x-ray after the 2-2 draw with Shrewsbury Town revealed that 25-year-old Northern Ireland midfielder Mark Hughes has ligament damage in his right shoulder.
Physiotherapist Mark Stein reported today that Hughes would have a scan tomorrow so that the extent of the damage can be further assessed.
The industrious Hughes, who has been singled out for praise for his performances in the opening games, was replaced by
Nicky Deverdics after 69 minutes.
The news on Hughes is a blow for Ian Hendon, who always says of him: "You know what you are going to get from him".
Hendon was unhappy with the Bees' "Jekyll and Hyde" performance against Shrewsbury. He said after the game: "To perform like we did in the first half and then to play like we did in the second...we were like two different teams and I am not accepting performances like that and I've told the players that".
The manager singled out
Albert Adomah for his starring role and praised two-goal Jake Hyde and full backs Ryan O'Neill and
Kenny Gillet. He warned there could be changes for the visit of Morecambe to Underhill on Tuesday.
A debate has started among supporters on the reason for an attendance of 1835 for Shrewsbury's visit, 400 of them away fans, when the average League 2 crowd at the start of this season is 4,384. Only Dagenham & Redbridge (1824) and Accrington Stanley (1498) had smaller attendances,
Last weekend The Football League reported the highest weekend crowds since 1963 - up 13 per cent.
Dennis Signy
