GRIMSBY Town midfielder Derek Niven's Wembley dream is in the balance.
The Scot limped out of the action during last night's Conference victory at Forest Green Rovers.
And Mariners joint boss Paul Hurst admits that the groin injury Niven sustained at The New Lawn may rule him out of the FA Trophy final on Sunday, March 24.
"He's popped his groin," said Hurst. "Just before he did it, he looked a bit uncomfortable and said he did feel something tighten.
"But then he's changed direction and his groin's popped, so it doesn't sound good on first diagnosis.
"If it's actually popped – which is how he's described it – I would imagine he would be a doubt for Wembley.
"That would be a big shame. He missed out on the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final squad for Chesterfield last year.
"Hopefully it's okay for Derek and us as team, because he's been a vital member, but he'll be the first to support the lads if it is bad news."
Hurst added: "We're not sure how long he'll be out. We'll speak to Dave Moore (Town's physio) and that will maybe decide how quickly we try to act.
"Perhaps we'll have to look to bring someone in. We've got Frankie Artus who is a midfielder as well, but with the amount of games we're talking about, we're going to need some help in there.
"We'll be looking at our list and maybe making a few calls to see if we can add to that."
