Shrewsbury Town have decided not to pursue their interest in Shropshire striker Nathan Hodge any further.

The 20-year-old grabbed the Town goal in last night’s reserve team 1-1 draw with Port Vale.

But manager Paul Simpson today confirmed he will not be offering Hodge a deal at this stage.

“Nathan did well and showed a good attitude but I don’t think he is going to improve what we have got,” said the Town boss.

“We thank him for his efforts and wish him well for the future and we will keep an eye on his development.”

Craven Arms-based Hodge came to Town’s attention after a remarkable scoring record at lower levels in recent seasons.

He bagged 38 goals in under 30 appearances for Woofferton in the Herefordshire Premier League last season and has scored 15 times in nine games for Ludlow in the West Midlands League premier division this term.

He also found the net 49 times for Church Stretton Town in the Shrewsbury Sunday League last season.

Hodge played in two reserve games and spent two days training with the first team during a trial spell.

Meanwhile, Town were today sweating over a fresh injury scare to out-of-luck midfielder Craig Disley.

The former Bristol Rovers man was stretchered off with a knee problem shortly before half-time last night.

Disley had ironically been making his comeback from a three-week lay-off after damaging medial ligaments to his knee in the 3-1 victory at Accrington at the end of August.

“The injury was from a tackle and it is being assessed by Nathan Ring (Town physio) today,” said first team coach Stuart Delaney.

Town will be hoping for a positive update on the 28-year-old as they continue to be blighted by injury concerns with Glyn Garner, Chris Neal, Mike Jackson, Terry Dunfield and Omer Riza unavailable for Saturday’s visit of Northampton.

By JAMES GARRISON