Another Chesterfield defender ruled out for season after Harrogate Town draw

The former Ipswich Town defender pulled up after 36 minutes and limped around the edge of the pitch before heading down the tunnel with a disappointed look on his face.

Right-back was the one position they could not afford to get another injury, after Ryheem Sheckleford was ruled out for the rest of the season with a calf problem. It now means Liam Mandeville might have to fill in for the remainder of the campaign.

“I have asked him whether it is pulled or torn but he has never really done his hamstring so he doesn’t know the feeling,” Danny Webb told the DT. “I would be very surprised if he played again this season. Even if it is a strain it will be three or four weeks. He will go for a scan first thing on Monday and hopefully it is not too bad. I am fearing the worst on that one in terms of the remainder of the season.”

The Spireites have been ravaged by injuries all season and it is a topic that will be reviewed when the campaign is over. Webb explained: “We have had a lot of injuries this year, gone through a lot of players, last year we used the second least amount of players and this year we have used the second or third most. It is something to look at. We won’t just sweep it under the carpet.”

On using Mandeville at right-back again, as they had to do against Harrogate, Webb added: “Mandeville has played there a lot for us this season but it is a shame because when you play him there you lose him higher up. There are a lot of options to be discussed.”

Chesterfield dominated possession but didn’t really make Harrogate goalkeeper James Belshaw work too often. They failed to register a shot on target in the first 45 but they improved after the break as they had efforts blocked and crosses flashed across goal but the visitors stood strong.

A fourth straight win would have taken Town closer to the play-offs and Webb admitted it felt like a ‘wasted opportunity.’

“It got better as it went on, in terms of our performance,” he said. “The gaffer wasn’t overly pleased at half-time and let the players know about it, especially on second balls around our box, we were clearing it and they were landing on it straight away. We were pleased to get in at half-time at 0-0 in terms of the gaffer being able to say what he needed to say, everyone got a livener and we played better in the second-half. There was only one team who I thought was going to go on and win the game.

“As the game went on I thought we started to dominate. You didn’t want us to lose it on a silly counter-attack but you fancied us to score, the balls were coming in and we were getting first contact and you thought the waves were going to part.”

Webb continued: “Harrogate defended the box with their lives but you can’t always win. But we would be lying if we didn’t feel it was a little bit of an opportunity wasted to close the gap on the top seven. It is a nice clean sheet but we are disappointed it is not two extra points. But we are unbeaten and we have gone up a place in the table. There is loads to improve on, especially the first-half, which was pretty average.”