Hythe Town striker Sam Conlon faces up to four months on the sidelines after having his jaw broken in a town centre attack on Saturday night.

Conlon, having helped the Cannons to a 2-2 draw at South Park in the afternoon, was out in Ashford with his brother when he was badly beaten up.

He spent the rest of the weekend in hospital and after undergoing surgery on Sunday, Conlon had his jaw wired on Monday before being discharged.

Police are investigating the incident which has robbed Hythe manager Tim Dixon of another key player in what is fast becoming an injury crisis at Reachfields.

Dixon said: "It’s such a shame. He’s been one of our best, most consistent players. I don’t know what else can go wrong.

"He set up the goal for Michael Yianni on Saturday and he worked hard. He didn’t play well against Ebbsfleet or Whyteleafe but came back with a bang on Saturday.

"Sam’s so honest. He apologised for his previous performances, he was going through a hard time but wants to get better and he did that on Saturday.

"It’s another body blow to the club, looking at it from a footballing point of view."

Dixon was already missing injured trio Dave Pilcher, Lee Pleau and Ashley Miller on Saturday and he revealed Yianni (knee), Josh Burchell (ankle), James Morrish (shin splints) and Dan Eason have all been playing through the pain barrier as well.

"I’ve never experienced this before," Dixon said. "People always say nothing goes for you when you’re down at the bottom and I can clarify that point. It really does go against you. You get absolutely nothing.

"Yes, you’ve got to earn the right to win and you’ve got to put points on the board but it makes it so hard when all this is happening."