Farsley keeper Tom Morgan is not as badly injured as first thought but he will be out almost as long, even though the prognosis has changed.

The first medical reports suggested that the keeper had broken his shoulder but subsequent scans have revealed that no bones are broken or damaged. That means Morgan has escaped the threat of going under the knife.

Farsley manager Neil Parsley said: “Tom has ruptured the joint on his collarbone and shoulder, so it is more ligament and tendon damage than anything else. After discussions with the specialists they have decided not to do any reconstructive surgery.

“Tom is looking at a long spell of rehabilitation so he won’t have the added problem of waiting for the after-effects of the operation. But that doesn’t mean he will be back any more quickly than if the medics had chosen to operate.

“It is three weeks already since the accidental collision that caused the injury and he could be out another two and a half months.

"It is a difficult one because of the nature of the injury for a goalkeeper but it is a plus that there will be no surgery.”

Parsley signed cover for Morgan but not in time for last Saturday’s FA Trophy tie at home to Curzon Ashton.

The rules are such that because he was not a Farsley player at the time of the original tie, he was ineligible for last Monday’s replay. That was just one of Parsley’s recent selection problems.

Parsley added: “We were down to the bare bones last Saturday but I can’t praise the squad enough for putting themselves on the line.

"Mark Jackson had suffered all week with illness and couldn’t train but played against Curzon.

“Ben Jones has had a cyst on his forehead that the lads had named Cyril and he had that removed and needed ten stitches but he has played through it.

"There are others who have had bigger problems than the usual injury concerns but have put themselves forward.

“Fair play to the boys, I owe them big thanks. They don’t just do it for me, they do it for the club as well, and I want the supporters and everyone to know just how much commitment they have shown recently.”