Kenyon and Fleming injuries bring Bentley to his knees

Posted Friday, October 05, 2018 by PA

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley has described the loss of midfielders Alex Kenyon and Andrew Fleming as a hammer blow after the pair underwent knee operations on Wednesday.

Kenyon suffered a tear to his medial meniscus during training and will likely be out of action for six to eight weeks.

Fleming’s injury is more serious and he will be out for up to five months due to damage to the articular cartilage in his left knee.

The news comes on top of the loss of forward James Sinclair for up to four months after he suffered a complex ankle break while playing for the reserves.

Tranmere will be without top goalscorer James Norwood for the trip to the Globe Arena.

Norwood scored his eighth goal of the season in the 1-0 win over Lincoln on Tuesday, but received a second yellow card in the third minute of second-half stoppage time and will serve a one-match ban.

Cole Stockton would appear the obvious replacement for Norwood, although manager Mickey Mellon revealed Stockton is managing a hernia injury which will require surgery in the near future.

Defender Richard Sutton, who has played just twice this season, has returned to training and is close to returning to the squad.