Hawks handed huge injury blow ahead of National League South summit showdown with Ebbsfleet

Midfielder Paul Rooney has been ruled out for up to three months with a torn medial ligament in his ankle.

That is the result of the injury picked up during the first half of the Bank Holiday Monday win against Farnborough.

An MRI scan has also revealed a slight fracture and Rooney’s foot will now be encased in a brace for six weeks.

‘I knew it wasn’t good when I first saw it,’ rued Hawks boss Paul Doswell. ‘We’re looking minimum eight weeks, more likely 10-12 weeks.

‘He’s one of our best players, it’s just so disappointing. Like Sam Magri and Tommy Wright, he’d probably be in the starting XI if fit - they’re all big losses.’

Hawks are currently second in the NLS table after banking six wins and a draw from their opening seven fixtures.

The only club above them is Ebbsfleet, who have yet to drop a point and who provide this weekend’s Westleigh Park opponents.

With Pompey away, Doswell is hoping Hawks can attract a crowd approaching 2,000 for what promises to be an attacking feast.

Fleet are averaging three goals a game from their first seven games, while Hawks are the division’s second highest scorers with 18.

Jake McCarthy (5) and James Roberts (4) are Hawks’ leading NLS marksmen so far, while Fleet have an abundance of attacking options.

Dominic Poleon’s brace in last weekend’s 3-1 home win over Bath City took his seasonal total to seven.

Rakish Bingham and Shaq Coulthirst are two other strikers with EFL experience, while Omari Sterling was part of the Kidderminster side that went so close to beating West Ham in the FA Cup last term.

Fleet also have Darren McQueen, well known to Hawks fans for scoring twice when Dartford ended their promotion dream at the play-off semi-final stage in July 2020.

McQueen, though, has been converted to a wing-back this season and has had to make do with sub appearances in recent weeks.

Three times this season he has come off the bench and scored while operating as a right wing-back, the latest against Bath.

In defence, Fleet can call on the highly experienced pair of Chris Solly (over 300 games for Charlton) and Sido Jombati, while ex-Colchester and Dagenham keeper Mark Cousins was a summer recruit.

‘They (Fleet) are massive favourites for the league, and probably to run away with it,’ said Doswell. ‘But our start has enabled us to stay close to them.

‘They are favourites for a reason, they have a 26-man pro squad, full time, and they’re a club that want to progress quickly.

‘Because of the funding they have from the middle east (Fleet have Kuwaiti owners), they can bring in players from the EFL.

‘They’re not bringing in players from the Conference South, they are bringing in top players - and with top players in the main you get top performances.’

Including the end of 2021/22, Fleet have won 13 and drawn one of their last 14 regular NLS fixtures.

They reached last season’s play-off final and were just seconds away from winning it at Dorking, only to concede deep into injury time and then suffer an extra-time loss.

Hawks are bidding for a sixth straight league win this weekend, having only ever won four in a row under Doswell prior to this season.