CAPTAIN Robert Elford admits Swanage & Wareham are feeling the pinch of a colossal injury crisis ahead of their home Dorset & Wilts Cup quarter-final against Chippenham tomorrow (2.30pm).

Elford revealed the club has no fewer than 21 of its first and second team regulars currently on the Bestwall treatment table and was unable to provide a squad when contacted by the Echo yesterday.

Elford said: “The squad hasn’t been finalised yet. In all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never known an injury list like it.

“Two more first-team players were injured against Maidenhead on Saturday which adds to the 19 players who were unavailable last week.

“The treatment room is full and I’ve never known it to be this stretched. It will be a case of assessing things at training and seeing who is fit.”

Previewing the cup encounter at Bestwall, Elford said: “Chippenham are back in South West One and we’ve had an indifferent season so far.

“The league is going to be a tough task this year and we except that, but the cup is one of our main objectives, as it always is. It’s always been special for this club.”

  • Cup holders Bournemouth Lions welcome old enemy Salisbury to Chapel Gate in the other quarter-final tie (2.30pm).

The Wiltshire outfit have lost five of their 10 South West Two East games this term, while Lions are sitting pretty in second place in South West One.

  • Wimborne, meanwhile, host Oldfield Old Boys in Southern Counties South (2.30pm).

Wimborne: (from) Napier, Murphy, Tinsdale, Hawkins, Hopkins, Davies, Coulling, Marchant, Llewellyn, Roberts, Chapman, Ryder, Walter, King, Maltmant, Lynch, Wareham, Day.