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Maidstone manager George Elokobi is treading carefully with skipper Sam Corne’s fitness.
The captain has missed the past two games after coming off with a tight calf at Weymouth last week.
He sat out the weekend defeat by Worthing and while he was pushing to return for the goalless draw at Chelmsford on Monday night, Elokobi took the decision out of his hands.
Midfielder Corne is a key player for the Stones and they want him to be right for the National League South promotion run-in.
“He came off at Weymouth feeling his calf, his calf was tight,” said Elokoki.
“We want him out there but in the last two months he’s not had enough training sessions, he’s just been playing games and been bit-part in training.
“He wanted to play against Chelmsford but I’ve taken responsibility to not allow him to play.
“Listening to Paul Smith, the head of medical, there’s still a swollen patch on the calf and we need to be careful because we’ve got plenty of games coming up, there’s a big season ahead and an exciting one.
“It’s important we get him right so he can be part of the run-in, so we have to manage him right.”
Elokobi is yet to decide whether Corne, who’s also had ankle problems this season, will return for the home game against promotion rivals Torquay this Saturday.
“I don’t know yet,” he said. “I’ll listen to Paul Smith and go by his advice. We take it game by game.
“He’s had a stop-start season and he’s disappointed as much as anyone.
“He wanted to give it a go against Chelmsford and I said no because I don’t want you to get injured.
“It was important we utilised the squad.”