Matt Gill's injury may force Bristol Rovers boss Mark McGhee into loan market

BRISTOL Rovers boss Mark McGhee may be forced to re-enter the loan market after it was confirmed skipper Matt Gill will be out for at least a month.

Gill was withdrawn during the warm-up of Saturday's game against Northampton with a sore knee and was yesterday sent for exploratory surgery to determine the extent of the problem.

McGhee estimates he will be without his skipper for between four and six weeks and that could be extended to as long as three months if further surgery is required to correct any serious problem.

The manager opted to play striker David Clarkson in central midfield in place of Gill on Saturday, but does not see the former Bristol City man as a long-term solution.

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"If Matt is out for longer than six weeks, we'd certainly have to think about the possibility of bringing someone in on loan," said McGhee.

"We have a few players in that department, but we don't have much in terms of experience. I'm confident the likes of Wayne Brown, Matt Lund or Seanan Clucas could step in and do a good job for us, but I think we have a responsibility to be looking around outside as well.

"A lot will depend on the situation with finance because it is important we stay within the confines of the salary cap.

"The chairman and the board have really pushed it to the limits of the threshold and injuries have not helped us in that regard.

"We never anticipated having two goalkeepers on loan at the start of the season, while we also have Cian Bolger sitting on a treatment table in Leicester.

"We've also had to go out and spend money on replacing Matt Harrold following his injury, so, if we are to do anything else in terms of a midfield player, we may have to consider making a sacrifice or two elsewhere in the squad."

Gill had been struggling with the problem since the early weeks of pre-season and McGhee added: "We had Matt scanned, but the results were not conclusive.

"He'll be out for four to six weeks at this stage due to the exploratory procedure, but if there is a problem that needs further surgery, we could be looking at up to three months.

"He's had the problem for a while, but he's hung in and tried to play through it.

"I have a lot of respect for that because it wouldn't have been difficult for him to take the easy option and sit out when results, at times, haven't been the best."

Danny Woodards, pictured, returned to training yesterday morning, following almost six months out recovering from a broken leg, and McGhee said the right-back could be in contention to feature in the League Two game at Accrington Stanley on October 27.

David Clarkson (ankle) and Derek Riordan (hamstring) are expected to be available for Saturday's trip to Burton Albion after both were substituted against Northampton Town with minor complaints last weekend.