The Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell has told the club’s official website that the last thing we want is to encounter any serious injuries in the last couple of games of the season.

The Alex boss has had to cope with the long-term loss of George Ray and James Jones for a large part of the season and Ryan Wintle was out injured from September until the New Year.

Artell told crewealex.net: “The last thing we want is for someone to get seriously injured in the last couple of games. I think we have had our fair share of that this season.

“Of course, you cannot predict what might happen but we are hoping that no-one suffers that. It puts you back over the summer and can affect you going into pre-season and even into the new season. The last thing you want as a player is a really serious injury at this stage.

“We know that as player, if you miss pre-season it is always tough. That is a given and it doesn’t matter if you are Ray, Jones, Bowery or Ronaldo. Everyone wants that foundation of fitness to take into the season.

The boss added: “It has to be part of our thinking but cannot be at the forefront of it. We have two games to go and we want to win them both.”