SWINDON Supermarine are sweating over the fitness of Luke Hopper ahead of this weekend’s trip to Shortwood United.

Saturday’s match will be Marine’s second meeting with Shortwood in five days, with Dave Webb’s side having recorded a 2-0 success in the Red Insure Cup on Tuesday night.

Hopper got Marine’s opening goal in that game at the Webb’s Wood Stadium, just a few minutes after coming on as a substitute midway through the second half.

However, boss Webb has since revealed that there has been a big downside to Hopper’s match-altering introduction, as the striker finished the game with an ankle injury.

He is now likely to join Marine’s long list of absentees for the match at Meadow Bank.

“I’m not sure that Luke will be fit,” said Webb.

“He went over on his ankle after only coming on as a sub for half an hour. He made a big difference, scoring one and setting one up.

“We haven’t spoken to him but he says he’s in a lot of trouble. He’s been playing really well for us so will be a big loss.

“We’ll just get on with it. We’ve been struggling all season with injuries but we are still winning games, and that’s the positive thing.”

Dave Bampton could be in line to make his first league appearance since November 4 this weekend. The Marine skipper has been out with a long-term injury and got 45 minutes under his belt in midweek.

Ryan O’Hara could also be back in the Marine squad after returning from holiday.

“Dave has been out for such a long time we didn’t want to put him through too much on Tuesday,” added Webb.

“He did everything we asked of him really well and we couldn’t be happier that he’s back fit.”

Marine currently sit 14th in the table and travel to Shortwood in search of three points that would pull them closer to the target of a play-off place.

Although Marine have already beaten their next opponents once this week, Webb is adamant that complacency will not be an issue.

“This game is more important than the cup one given our league position and the fact we are playing catch up,” said Webb.

“It will be a very different game to Tuesday and I’m sure they will have a few players coming back in.

“Our players won’t be getting carried away after the result in midweek. Not many teams go to Shortwood and get anything.

“They have got quality in all areas and work extremely hard. That’s something we’ll try to match in our own game – we need to out-work them.

“They are up near the play-offs and that’s just about where they have been ever since they got promoted from the Hellenic League, so we know they’re a good side.”