Peterborough United winger Chris Whelpdale will miss six weeks of action after undergoing a hernia operation while striker Craig Mackail-Smith has returned to England for further treatment on a groin problem.
Whelpdale went under the knife on Thursday with the operation hailed a success, but Darren Ferguson insists he could miss the start of the Coca-Cola Championship campaign. Ferguson said: 'Chris had the operation and by all accounts it went well, but he will be out for six weeks, which is obviously a blow.
'I have plenty of options though on the right hand side of midfield, there are a number of players that can fill that position, so I won't be panicking on that front. Paul Coutts missed Friday's training session with illness, but is a bit better than he was, which is obviously good news.
'Craig Mackail-Smith has flown back to England for further treatment and we will see how that is at the start of next week. The sessions on Friday were good, nice and sharp and the players applied themselves really well,' Ferguson said.
