Hartlepool United: On-loan Chelsea goalkeeper Max Merrick and Max Kouogun suffer injuries

Hartlepool United have been hit by a double injury blow with confirmation that goalkeeper Max Merrick is set to be out for six weeks while Max Kouogun may need ankle surgery.

On-loan Merrick, who has returned to parent club Chelsea for treatment, had to be replaced shortly after the half hour mark in Pools' 1-0 win over Woking on Saturday due to a thigh injury, while defender Kouogun has sustained ankle ligament damage after landing awkwardly in the defeat to Eastleigh in August.

"Max obviously went straight back down to Chelsea with it being his parent club and the medical facilities they have there," Clark told BBC Radio Tees. "He's had a scan.

"We spoke with their medical team - not good news, but probably what we expected. He's got a thigh tear, so he'll be out for six weeks.

"You can imagine what a top elite European club has in terms of facilities and the attention that they can have in terms of the amount of medical staff that they have as well.

"He'll get the very best of attention there and then when he gets close to that return, he'll come back up with us. We're keeping in touch with him every day, making sure that everything's okay.

"Following on from that, we've had a scan on Max Kouogun with his ankle issue when he landed in the Eastleigh game, he's got some kind of ligament damage, so Max will be out for a minimum of two months.

"We're going to see a consultant to see whether it needs surgery, if that would be the case, that would take up to three months. So that's a big blow for us because Max is a big player for us in every sense of the word."

Merrick was replaced against Woking by summer recruit Nathan Fisher, with the 21-year-old now in line to start against Kidderminster Harriers on Friday (19:45 BST).

That would mean player/goalkeeping coach Adam Smith moving up as second-choice goalkeeper.

Clark will have discussions with Chris Maxwell, who is head of football operations at club advisors' Bromby & Partners, to see if there is the possibility of bringing in a replacement to cover Merrick's absence.

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