With little under a month to go before the season gets under way, the injuries are already starting to stack up for Macclesfield.
The Blues’ pre-season friendlies begin next Wednesday with an internal game, pitting the players from the first and second XVs against each other.
While coach Geoff Wappett is anticipating an enticing clash, with no quarter asked or given, he’ll be hoping his men stay fit and ready to face Blaydon on September 1.
"We’ve got our first game next week but we are missing a lot of players who are away with work or their families," he said.
"It’s extraordinarily frustrating but I’d rather they were away now than when the real business begins.
"The situation is that some very useful lads aren’t going to be around for parts of what will be a long and tough season but we’ve increased the size of the squad so that we can cope better with absences."
Two players are almost certain to miss the start of Macclesfield’s National League One campaign, while a third, Dean Williams is preparing in hope rather than expectation.
"Dean Williams has had an operation to clear out his knee," revealed Wappett. "He’s still having a lot of trouble with it and there’s a good chance that he won’t be ready.
"Chris Jones is still coming back from that really nasty broken leg he suffered against Ealing Trailfinders last season and even though his recovery is progeressing he’s unlikely to be ready to play until October atbest.
"The third worry is one of our props, Aaron Lockett. He’s recovering from a shoulder operation in the summer."
While clubmates will be facing off at Priory Park next week the dricetor of rugby is expecting a ‘rough and tumble’ clash, adding: "I’d like our pre-season games to be very good practices.
"I’d like all our lads to knock each other about a bit and get our conditioning somewhere near to where we want it to be for the start of the season. We’ll make sure we’re ready."
