Telford's Dave Hibbert ruled out of Tamworth trip
AFC Telford have been left with a pain in the grass with striker Dave Hibbert forced to sit out tomorrow's National North clash at Tamworth.
The 30-year-old was forced to retire from the professional game because of a serious knee injury which prevents him being allowed to train or play on 3G surfaces such as his last club Tamworth's, which was installed this summer.
Manager Rob Smith said: "Hibbo won't be involved. He's had two hard games up there on his own and with this match being on an artificial pitch, it was always our intention not to play him in this one.
"He's probably had two of his best performances since I've been here so he's in good form, so losing him is a big blow. But it is what it is and we have to protect him."
Centre-back Dan Preston believes Hibbert will be a big loss, adding: "Hibbo has had a great start to the season.
"He'll be a big miss because he's a real handful and not many centre-halves can beat him in the air."
Hibbert has been a focal point of the Bucks' attack so far but Smith insists they are not one-dimensional.
"Hibbo's a great option but I wouldn't say we tell people to lump it forwards to him. However, from James Montgomery's kicks he can win it for us," he added.
"Similarly, Josh Wilson and Tom Peers are no mugs in the air."
Tamworth are unbeaten without conceding so far after beating Worcester City 1-0 on Tuesday and Smith believes the pitch will be a factor in their favour.
Telford have tried to acclimatise to the surface by training on TCAT's 3G pitch last night.
"It's going to take time for them to get used to it but it's got to be an advantage to play on something you train on," he said.
"I'm not a lover of artificial pitches but in this day and age I'd imagine the standard is pretty good, so we'll see what it's like."
Smith wants the Bucks to be more ruthless, adding: "They haven't conceded and we haven't scored so you'd put money on a narrow Tamworth win.
"They're a decent team and at home so it's going to be very tough for us.
"But the emphasis will be on trying to create more. We've created quite a few chances so we're not completely drawing blanks, but we need to be more clinical."
