Athletic facing lengthy lay-off

Boundary Park: In the grip of the icy blast.

ATHLETIC are facing the unwanted prospect of up to SEVEN WEEKS between matches at Boundary Park.

The recent heavy snowfall, coupled with forecast freezing temperatures for the rest of the week, make it highly unlikely that the scheduled Coca-Cola League One home game against Leyton Orient will go ahead on Saturday.

The playing surface and surrounding areas of the ground are caked with thick snow and should the match fall victim to the elements, it would mean that Athletic’s first home fixture of 2010 is on Saturday, January 23, against Millwall.

However, even that game may not take place, regardless of the weather. Millwall play in an FA Cup third round replay away at Derby County next Tuesday and if they win at Pride Park, their home fourth round tie against Brentford or Doncaster Rovers will take precedence on January 23.

Barring any rearranged fixtures in-between, that would make the next Boundary Park run-out for Dave Penney’s side the Brentford test on Saturday, January 30.

Athletic last played on home turf on December 12, when they earned a 2-0 victory over Exeter City thanks to second-half goals from Deane Smalley and on-loan Doncaster striker Paul Heffernan.

The one consolation for Athletic is that even if the Orient game is called off as expected, the team cannot fall into the League One relegation zone this weekend. That is because Orient are the only bottom-four side within three points of Penney’s men.

Another blow to Athletic is the postponement of tonight’s totesport.com League Cup reserve match at Morecambe, particularly with the likes of Chris Taylor and Pawel Abbott desperate to get game-time under their belts as they work their way back to full fitness.

There is no indication at present when the club’s other long-term injured players will be ready to come back into the first-team picture.

Andy Holdsworth (knee), Lewis Alessandra (ankle) and Jon Worthington (ankle) are all still recovering from surgery, while Rob Purdie (pelvis) is still awaiting his first-team debut since signing from Darlington in the summer.

Kelvin Lomax (groin) also missed the game at Hartlepool.