Vermiglio out of firing line

Career-threatened Jamie Vermiglio will be taken out of the AFC Telford United reckoning as he battles with a broken back.

The midfielder played in Tuesday's 1-0 replay win at Southport in the FA Trophy quarter-finals, but will not be risked again by boss Rob Smith for Saturday's Blue Square North clash at Hyde.

Vermiglio, 26, has been told by a specialist he must retire from football with immediate effect or risk permanent nerve damage.

He signed a legal disclaimer before taking to the field at Haig Avenue, accepting personal responsibility for any damage he suffered as a result of his involvement.

"I haven't spoken to him since Tuesday night but I think that now, at least for a couple of weeks, we need to let him have a rest," said Smith.

"You can't under-estimate the pain he's been in and he's not doing himself any favours in the long run so we need to take him out of the firing line.

"We've got Emeka (Nwadike), Bruno (Carl Rodgers) and Phil Trainer who can all come in and do his job. If we don't have to take a risk with him then we won't.

"All is not lost yet – he is going to go via his GP and arrange to see another specialist for a second opinion, and we will support him in any way we can."

Meanwhile, Smith confirmed Telford will not appeal over the red card shown to right-back Lee Vaughan in the victory over the Sandgrounders.

The 22-year-old faces a three-game ban which starts two weeks from the date of his dismissal.

That means he will miss the FA Trophy semi-final first leg at home to York City on Saturday, March 14, and the two Tuesday league games either side of that – at Vauxhall Motors and Blyth Spartans.

"It's a blow to be without him but I have no concerns that we have the resources to cope without him for those three games," said Smith.

"He'll be back for the second leg (against York) all guns blazing."

By CHRIS HUDSON