WAYNE Goodison has said he is hopeful an injury sustained by striker Scott McGowan isn’t as serious as first feared.

The striker limped off shortly after scoring for 1874 Northwich during a draw with Northwich Victoria on Monday afternoon.

“Scott didn’t want to take a risk,” said the co-manager.

“He told us he was worried he had tweaked his hamstring, and that it didn’t feel right.

“It was a big game, one he wanted to be 100 per cent for, and in the end he made the decision to come off.”

McGowan’s condition will be assessed later this week and he is rated by Goodison as ‘doubtful’ to feature in Saturday’s fixture at Squires Gate.

He is more optimistic that Matthew Woolley might return after missing the past four matches with a badly bruised ankle.

The captain hasn’t featured since coming off during an FA Cup extra preliminary round replay against Burscough earlier this month.

1874’s management team pan to check on full-back Matthew Russell (heel) before the weekend too.

Meanwhile the length of winger Ryan Jackson’s recovery from a knee injury sustained during pre-season will not be known until after he has a scan.