Stephen Baxter admitted he will have to be careful with his players returning from long-term injuries despite the current injury crisis at Crusaders.
Josh Robinson and Gary Thompson have been thrust into action again in recent weeks after overcoming injury with Declan Caddell stepping out of retirement to help the Crues.
But Baxter is cautious not to overplay his returning stars despite his options being thin on the ground.
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“Josh is back four to six weeks too early," he said.
“He got one game last Monday night with a view that he had to play in Friday night’s game because our injuries are so bad.
“That has been difficult and I don’t like pushing guys like Josh and Gary back into the fray when they aren’t ready as you could get them badly injured again.
“Similarly, Declan has been out for months and it can be risk from my point of view and we’ve got away with it the last few weeks, however, tonight was probably one step too far."
The Crues received a boost this week as striker Adam Lecky signed a new two-year deal with the club.
Lecky, who moved to Seaview from Ballymena United in 2020, has scored 23 goals to date and is in line to make his 100th appearance for the club if selected against Glenavon this Saturday.
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