RICHARD Marshall has been sidelined through injury since September and has no idea just how long he will be out of action until he sees his specialist next Friday.

The Farsley Celtic forward had been carrying a hip injury during last season's double-winning season, when the Celts won the West Riding County FA Cup and promotion to the Evo-Stik League Premier Division via the play-offs.

Marshall had hoped that the rest and recuperation over the close season would ease him into the new campaign but he had to face up to the severity of his injury.

"It got to the point where I couldn't play and it was affecting my walking, as I had a limp," he said.

"I've played football for nearly 25 years and I've never had a broken bone or needed an op, so it's all new to me.

"It's a hip problem similar to the one Nath (team-mate Nathan Turner) had, so it's a bad one. Nath was out for a while and he had his op in the summer. I'm seeing the consultant on Friday and I guess he'll tell me something.

"But it's one of those that's difficult to put a timescale on. The consultant will have the final say. I'd probably say that I'm going to miss the rest this season but I hope I'm wrong."

The former FC Halifax Town and Bradford Park Avenue player admits he is not a good watcher. He prefers to be in the think of the action and the same goes for training – but he has been forced to sit out while the squad are doing ball work and working on systems.

It has been frustrating for Marshall as he has missed so much of the club's first season back in the Evo-Stik League top tier.

"It's definitely come at the wrong time after promotion and the season we had last year," he said.

"It was a tough season but a good season because we achieved so much. When I was in the Conference North (with Halifax and Avenue), we were always struggling but meeting our expectations.

"Last season was different as we heaped the pressure on ourselves by going through to the West Riding Cup final and challenging for the title. We just missed out on that, finishing second, but we were soon back under pressure with the play-offs.

"It was great but that just makes this lay-off even harder to get through. It's hard for me not to be involved in training. I'm only doing a bit of gym work and it's nearly three months now.

"I'm still there, with all the lads, but I'm limited to exercises and strengthening work and I miss the training and five-a-side games. But I can't risk my long-term health because there is bone damage and arthritis.

"I played with it for a year and it's not an injury as such, as it didn't occur in a tackle or a bad twist. It's just wear and tear over the years."