Crewe Alexandra defender Danny O'Donnell is keeping his fingers crossed that his back injury is not as serious as he first thought it was. O'Donnell was struggling towards the end of the game at Cheltenham after aggravating his lower back, but he battled on until the end of the 2-2 draw.

O'Donnell was more disappointed as anybody following the trip to Whaddon Road because not only did he pick up an injury - but it was also his foul which present Cheltenham with their lifeline via Alan Wright's wonderfully struck shot. It was a miserable weekend for the 21-year-old but he is hoping that his injury nightmare won't be too long-term.

Danny told the club's official web-site: "I was suffering with a tightness in my back before the Cheltenham game but I thought it would loosen off. It didn't it just got gradually worse and worse, and the last 10 minutes I was just trying to do my best for the team. My back just locked up and I was struggling.

"Hopefully the physio's here Matt (Radcliffe) and Steve (Walker) can put it right for me with massage and stretching.

Dan adds: "I think there is a little bit of damage to my lower back, and I won't know until I have a scan what the extent of the injury is. I'm hoping it's not too serious. Back injuries are a bit of a grey area, it could be 2-3 days it could be 2-3 weeks, we just don't know at this point."