Injury list providing a headache for United boss

The manager has been left reeling by long-term injuries to two key players in Kyle McVey and Gavin Taggart, while a number of other senior players are out of action in the short to medium term.

Defender McVey is likely to miss much of the remainder of the season after fracturing his ankle in Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat by Coleraine.

“Kyle has worked desperately hard over pre-season to get back in football and he’s been playing himself back to full fitness, only for that to happen,” said Ferguson.

“It was an innocuous incident when one of their players fell on top of Kyle as the two players fell to the ground.”

Gavin Taggart is going to be another long-term absentee.

The midfielder, already awaiting an operation on a broken nose, is currently in hospital, having undergone an operation for a collapsed lung.

Key defender Johnny Taylor remains on the sidelines with bone bruising in the centre of his knee and he will be out for three or four more weeks.

Left-back Stephen McBride will attempt to resume training this week after receiving treatment for abdominal condition osteitis pubis but if he breaks down, it will require an injection.

Defender Michael Ruddy limped out of Saturday’s game with a groin strain and will miss tonight’s League Cup quarter-final against Dungannon but he is not expected to be sidelined for long.

“We’ve lost the likes of Johnny Taylor, Stephen McBride and Gavin Taggart - boys who would be in the team week in, week out.

“Losing our two centre-halves certainly upset the team a bit and we had to chop and change a bit but I still don’t think we did enough to get anything out of the game.

“We worked hard in the second half but we didn’t work Michael Doherty enough,” added Ferguson.