Pope's knee op delayed

Pope was due to go under the surgeon's knife tomorrow, but it now looks like he will have to wait until early next month before he can begin his rehabilitation.

The 30-year-old sustained the injury during the Shropshire Senior Cup final with Shrewsbury in July, which Telford lost on penalties.

Doctors had suggested the injury might not be as bad as first feared, but a visit to a specialist last week saw the original diagnosis confirmed.

"The operation was pencilled in for tomorrow morning," assistant manager Larry Chambers declared.

"But he got a call yesterday to tell him the surgeon is unavailable so it's off.

"I spoke to him yesterday and he's not very happy about it - it's more the delay at the other end that's worrying him.

"However many weeks the operation is delayed, that's how much longer it's going to take him to come back."

Meanwhile, Chambers has not ruled out the possibility of new faces arriving and admitted they had been inundated with calls.

"There's been quite a few players offered to us but they've got to be the right ones," he said.

"We get Conference clubs ringing us offering players on loan and we get players ringing who are coming back from injury and out of their own squad at the minute.

"But we've got a good squad here and won't make a signing for the sake of it. Anyone who comes in has got to fit in with what we've already got."

Left wing-back Richard Beale was hoping to return to training tonight after missing Saturday's FA Cup first qualifying round defeat to Halesowen with patellar tendonitis - a condition more commonly known as 'jumper's knee'.

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