Swindon Town striker Brett Pitman has been ruled out for a month with a groin injury by manager Richie Wellens

With the ex-Portsmouth goalscorer now likely to be side-lined until after Town’s FA Cup first round tie on November 7, Wellens has been left with only one recognised frontman for clashes with Sunderland, Oxford United and Hull City.

Cutting a fairly despondent figure at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Wellens said he does not expect any fresh faces before the deadline of 5pm on Friday.

He said: “We’re not speaking to anyone at the moment, so I probably wouldn’t expect anyone to come in before Saturday.

“We can get a free agent after Saturday, but they need to be paid up by their parent club.

“It’s only a short window until January, but there’s 18 games or so in that time.

“We’ve got a big enough squad to cope, defensively. Defensively, we’re ok, but in midfield I think we’re short.

“And now Brett Pitman has pulled his groin and he’s out for a month. Now we’re short on out-and-out strikers as well.”

Following three defeats on the bounce, the Swindon manager stated the club does not have the money to freshen up the squad unless at least one player departs beforehand.

Though that may not be totally out of the question, Wellens said he was ‘sick’ of talking about transfers and has turned his focus to improving the squad at his disposal.

Wellens said: “At the moment, no one is really looking like they’re heading out. There might be one today, but that will be about it.

“There’s no real point talking about transfers because at the moment, we’re not speaking to any potential players and it doesn’t look like changing.

“We might get one, but I’m not sure – we’ll have to wait and see.

“I don’t really know what you want me to say anymore – I’m sick of talking about transfers to be honest.

“You can speculate all you want, but if you haven’t got the money, you can’t sign anyone.

“If we don’t sign anyone in the window, then it’s down to me to get the best out of what we’ve got.”