THREE points against Torquay United helped cushion a double injury blow for Newport County AFC on Saturday.

First half goals from Ismail Yakubu and the recalled Danny Crow sealed the win over the Gulls, who fought back with an Ade Azeez strike after the break but couldn’t force a draw.

But County manager Justin Edinburgh was only able to name five substitutes at Rodney Parade and he revealed after the match that Aaron O’Connor has suffered a setback with his groin injury.

And midfielder Ryan Burge is another player in the crowded treatment room for new physio Adam Roche to deal with this week.

Lee Minshull will be back from his three-match ban for next Saturday’s trip to Bury but Edinburgh is concerned about the effect of the mounting casualty list on his small squad.

"Hopefully we can start getting one or two back before too long,” said Edinburgh.

“Lee Minshull comes back into the fray now and Christian Jolley won’t be too far away for next week at Bury now.

“Azza has had a slight setback. He trained with us on Thursday and he’s had a bit of a reaction to that so we’ll assess that.

“He needs to do some strengthening work on the injury and hopefully we’ll have a better indication over the next couple of days where he’s at.

“Ryan picked up a knock in the game against the university on Tuesday. It was an innocuous challenge, a coming together, and that is just the way it is going for us at the minute.”

He added: “It was a baptism of fire for Adam. He came in and had to assess four or five players in the morning and then was thrown into a match day but thankfully he didn’t have much to do during the game. We hope it stays that way.”

Edinburgh was, however, pleased with the hard-fought victory over the Gulls, which lifts his side to eighth in the League Two table.

“We wanted back to back wins and we’ve got that so I’m pleased,” said the Exiles boss.

“Once they got the goal we became a little bit nervous but that was everyone – the crowd and the players – because we’re used to winning at home and we haven’t done it for a little while.

“It’s natural that the crowd became a bit nervy once they got the goal, like we all did, but credit to the players they saw the game out and deserved their win.

“It was a tight game, as have all the games we’ve played in this division, and again we’ve acquitted ourselves well.”

Edinburgh was particularly pleased for Crow, who took his chance on a rare start this season in place of Chris Zebroski.

“Danny gave us everything after getting the start and just ran out of steam after an hour,” he said.

“When you’re a manager you see players in training and you see an attitude and a desire that twists your arm to make a decision. Danny deserved his chance and he showed why.”