RYAN FALLOWFIELD is set for a spell on sidelines for between four to six weeks.

York City’s right-back has suffered a pulled hamstring in training after featuring for the full 90 minutes in the Minstermen’s 1-0 defeat to Gainsborough Trinity last Saturday.

Fallowfield has managed 23 appearances so far this season in all competitions for York, but has found game time limited as of late, starting just two of City’s last nine matches.

However, Adam Hinshelwood feels as if the defender’s influence is already being missed in training, with the boss labelling Fallowfield’s absence as a ‘blow’ to his plans.

“The only one is Ryan Fallowfield. He’s had a slight pull of his hamstring in training, which is a blow," Hinshelwood confirmed.

“Again, it would have been his first 90 in a while on a heavy pitch and on the Tuesday he exerted it a little bit and overstretched to block a shot.

“Like he does, he trains with so much intensity and it’s what we like about Ryan.

“When he came on the other day in the Gateshead game, he put in two unbelievable tackles and [not] having him around the squad, we saw it for the first time today, it was a miss.

“It is a miss, the extent of the damage we’re not too sure on but it could potentially be four to six weeks for Ryan, so it’s a bit of a blow.”

In that 1-0 FA Trophy defeat to Gainsborough at the weekend, Hinshelwood opted to make eight changes to his side which proved to be a costly decision in the end.

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However, of those eight changes, there were rests on the day for Dipo Akinyemi, Marvin Armstrong and Callum Howe, who were all given the time to recover after dealing with heavier loads than usual lately.

“He’s [Akinyemi] trained brilliantly this week, so he’s ready to go. Marvin Armstrong as well, Callum Howe, they have all really benefitted from a bit of a rest.

“Their loads in particular in the last game [vs Gateshead] was really high.

“It’s important that we find that load but also manage them and pull the players out at the right time, the potential of an injury can occur and pulling them out at the right time is so important.

“That’s why we’ve got the data, we have the GPS and Olly [Parker] and Sam [Mannings] on that side of it do a great job for us.

“They make sure that we’ve got the players fully fit and ready to go, we don’t overload them too much.”

Saturday’s match also allowed Cameron John to achieve 72 needed minutes after recovering from a hamstring injury, with the City left-back gaining valuable match fitness.

Hinshelwood doesn’t expect John to be available consistently through a heavy run of fixtures for the rest of January, with Adam Crookes also back in training, and likely to return to action at Rochdale next Wednesday (7.45pm).

Adam Crookes is nearing a return to action for York City. (Image: Tom Poole) The boss detailed: “We got a bit more out of him [John] so I’m pleased, it offers us so much to have that natural balance on the left-hand side.

“It’s just one to look at, it’s a hectic month now, Saturday and then about six games in close succession.

“He’s probably not a player that can play Saturday to Wednesday and then Saturday to Wednesday, especially in this first month.

“I don’t think that if he plays on the Saturday, you’ll see him on the Wednesday.

“It’s a great addition though to have him back in the squad.

“It’s a tough one [on Crookes], we’ve got to manage him similarly to Cam John and Len as well, coming back from a hamstring injury.

“He’s probably not going to available from Saturday to Tuesday, but week to week really.

“He’s come back from one injury and has picked up another one in his groin, so it’s frustrating times.

“Since I’ve been at the club, Crookesy has been excellent when he has played, but we probably haven’t had him available enough.

“It’s a top, top player and a top guy, but it’s a frustration for him as well as us really that he’s not been able to feature as much as we would have liked.

“With Crookesy being available, he should be available for the Rochdale game. He’s trained well this week so it’s probably a bit too soon for Saturday, but he should be available for next week.”