Former Liverpool FC midfielder Tom Hill ruled out for rest of season as Harrogate Town suffer triple injury blow

Recent recruit Tom Hill has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring issue, while fellow midfielder Levi Sutton and veteran forward Jack Muldoon are also facing spells on the sidelines.

Last season’s 18-goal top-scorer George Thomson was the Sulphurites’ only long-term casualty prior to Tuesday’s trip to Port Vale, with the likes of Josh Falkingham and Liam Gibson recently having returned to fitness.

But Hill, a January arrival from Liverpool, went off late on at Vale Park, and will not play again this term.

And that news comes as a real blow for Town after the 22-year-old delivered two excellent performances against Accrington and the Valiants on his first couple of starts for the club.

“Tom Hill pulled his hamstring in the week,” Harrogate boss Simon Weaver explained.

“We will be without him for the rest of the season, unfortunately.”

Sutton, 27, has also damaged a hamstring, and had to be replaced in the 32nd minute of Saturday’s 1-0 home success over Carlisle, though Weaver doesn’t envisage him being sidelined for as long as Hill.

“Levi is sore, it’s another hamstring problem,” the Town chief added.

“Hopefully it won’t be too bad. He stopped at the right moment, he had just been fouled and pulled up and he felt his hamstring.”

Another central midfielder, Ben Fox, and leading goal-scorer Josh March both returned to Harrogate’s starting line-up at the weekend after knocks prevented them taking the field at Port Vale.

But, 35-year-old Muldoon was once again unavailable for selection because of an eye issue, and could well miss Town’s next couple of fixtures.

“Mullers has got a problem with his eye,” Weaver revealed.

“It’s an eye ulcer and it could be a problem for a couple of weeks.”

The Harrogate camp was hit by illness last week with a number of players left bed-ridden.

Influential centre-half Anthony O’Connor was one of the worst affected, and although he was another player to return to action against Carlisle having missed out in midweek, winger James Daly is still yet to recover from the flu-like virus.

“James has been ill for more than a week,” Weaver continued.

“He came in for a little bit of training, but you could see he was still blowing on Friday and Saturday was just too soon for him.”