NEWPORT County AFC will be sweating on the fitness of two more players following Saturday’s win at Stevenage.

James Rowberry was already without Josh Pask, Robbie Willmott, Courtney Baker-Richardson, Courtney Senior and Priestley Farquharson, while Oli Cooper also missed the trip to the Lamex Stadium with a knock.

County managed to make it past the League Two strugglers thanks to two second-half goals from Rob Street and Ryan Haynes.

But the result was not without its set-backs, with two more players joining the already overcrowded treatment room at Rodney Parade.

Jake Cain was substituted a minute before the end of the first half, while Aaron Lewis – who had switched to left back with the return of James Clarke from suspension – was taken off at half-time.

Lewis needed several minutes of treatment after a strong tackle 12 minutes in. He was able to carry on until the break with his leg strapped up, but did not return for the second half.

“Aaron’s got a massive gash on his thigh, which I thought was a terrible tackle,” said Rowberry after the match. “He’s had to have stitches. It’s a gash which is not great.

“I thought at times today we suffered in certain elements of the game from that.

“The gash on his leg is not great at all.”

When asked about Cain’s withdrawal, the boss said: “Jake’s got a rib issue.”

He added that he didn’t yet know how serious Cain’s injury was, and when asked about Lewis’ availability for the trip to Cumbria, he said: “We’ll see how it goes.”

“We ultimately need eleven players on the pitch,” he added. “We’ve got a few injuries as well with our younger players who got injured in a game on Thursday which doesn’t help us either.

“It is what it is. We’re at the business end of the season so we’ve just got to get on with it and keep moving forward.

“We’ll get through it. We’ve got to get through it.”

Things could’ve been even worse for the Exiles, as Scot Bennett was down for several minutes after falling awkwardly when challenging for a header. Fortunately, the midfielder was able to play on.

County’s depleted team now travel to in-form Carlisle on Tuesday before hosting Hartlepool on Friday – as part of a run of three games in seven days.