JUST one week into the league campaign and Salisbury boss Steve Claridge is in the thick of an injury crisis.

Summer signing Matt Partridge was stretched off in Tuesday night’s defeat to Poole with a tore hamstring.

This was in the week, that the club learned another new face goalkeeper Marcus Beauchamp will be out for the season, with a cruciate injury.

Another new signing midfielder Darren Mullings is still three weeks away from being back.

Claridge said: “I can’t believe what has happened. I have signed three players for the spine of the team and all are out now. Marcus without kicking a ball, Matty is our best centre half and Mullings will make a huge difference to us. I think we must have an injury curse on the club as this is the third year running this has happened.

He added: “It makes it so frustrating, as I can never plan and it would be nice to get through a game without anyone being injured.”

Next up for the Whites is a home game against Dorchester on Saturday (3pm).

Salisbury opened their campaign, last Saturday with a 2-2 draw at Beaconsfield and then lost at home to Poole 2-1, but Claridge felt they gave away the points on Tuesday night.

The Whites boss said: “Our goalkeeper (Charlie Searle) has made two schoolboy errors and has apologised to me after for it.

Kane (O’Keefe) has got sent off when he should not have reacted as he did and he is now out for three games.

“We were our own worst enemies in that game, but now we have to regroup and go again and see what we can do.”