Everything John Askey said on Emmanuel Dieseruvwe’s injury as Hartlepool United suffer major setback

Hartlepool United will face an anxious wait to discover the extent of a potentially ‘serious’ injury to star striker Emmanuel Dieseruvwe suffered in the 4-4 draw with Wealdstone.

Emmanuel Dieseruvwe went off injured for Hartlepool United in the draw with Wealdstone

Dieseruvwe was taken off midway through the second half of a pulsating contest at Grosvenor Vale[1] where John Askey’s side came from 3-0 down to rescue an unlikely point in the most dramatic of circumstances. Dieseruvwe has been Hartlepool’s main man this season after a summer switch from FC Halifax Town[2]. The striker has thrived under Askey with 15 goals to already eclipse last season’s total with the Shaymen.

And although the striker was not on the scoresheet against Wealdstone[3], he played a key role in Hartlepool’s fightback when he was involved in Callum Cooke’s goal before assisting Joe Grey for Pools’ second. But Dieseruvwe could be seen in some discomfort when twisting his knee midway through the second half before being withdrawn. The striker tried to run off the problem on the sideline before he was replaced by Josh Umerah, who went on to score Hartlepool’s third of the game, with Askey hinting it could be bad news for Hartlepool with a potentially serious injury to their talisman.

Hartlepool United will be hoping Josh Umerah can rediscover his form in the absence of Emmanuel Dieseruvwe. Picture by FRANK REID

“Mani has gone down and it looks quite serious.

He’s obviously the last one we wanted to go down and get injured,” said Askey. “It’s his knee, there’s a lot of give in it. Potentially it could be a huge blow to us – he’s been the main man since the start of the season.

“I think I’m at that stage now [with injuries] where I’m just starting to accept things and we just have to keep battling and keep fighting.”