'A blow' - Shrewsbury Town midfielder Tom Sang set for spell out with injury

Tom Sang is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury for Shrewsbury Town.

Boss Gavin Cowan has confirmed the midfielder will miss Salop’s clash with Tranmere Rovers on Friday. Sang was forced off just before half-time during last weekend’s defeat at Newport County.

Town had been hopeful the 26-year-old’s injury was not as serious as first feared, but he is now expected to be out for a number of weeks.

Cowan said: “If it's anything like a kick or a bang, or anything like that, we can normally turn them around. But certainly with hamstrings, we have to be a little bit cautious.

“It’s a bit of a blow. He's arguably been one of our best players, if not our best player for me, in terms of his bravery to try and handle the ball, his energy and his football IQ. I think he's been pretty exceptional for us.

“We've probably found his position, where he's been so versatile in his play that maybe that’s been his problem.

“But he may be struggling now for a couple of weeks.”

Asked if he could put a specific timeline on how long he could be out, Cowan added: “The medical staff will know a bit more about that.

“But at the moment, all I have to do is focus on Friday and he won't be available for that.”

Shrewsbury welcome Tranmere as they look to return to winning ways following four consecutive defeats.

There is, however, a boost with forwards Bradley Ihionvien and John Marquis having recently returned from lengthy injury lay-offs.

Asked about any other injury concerns, Cowan said: “Not that I know of. We've had a couple of little niggles, but players will be available off the back of that.

“They're all fighting for that shirt. So they want to get in the team. At this stage of the season, they're playing for contracts, they're playing for pride, they're playing to remain here.

“Even players that are under contract have got a point to prove. We want to gather some momentum going into next season. So it's important that we hit the ground running again.”