Ryan Maxwell has welcomed a blank weekend as Sittingbourne look to clear their early-season injuries.

The Brickies suffered rotten luck when starting their Isthmian South East campaign with a 3-2 home defeat by Cray Valley on Saturday.

Donvieve Jones fell ill on the morning of the game and new signing Javaun Splatt tweaked his groin in the warm-up.

Darnell Kithambo was withdrawn before half-time with a knee injury and Jake Goodman had to come off at the break.

Brickies’ injury misery was complete when defender Joe Tyrie came off with a hamstring problem during the second half.

With Chris Harris and Alex Bentley already on the sidelines, boss Maxwell has found himself with a lengthy injury list.

The Brickies do, however, have a free Saturday following their 2-0 FA Cup replay defeat by Jersey Bulls last Tuesday.

“We’re going through a difficult period with injuries - it’s very frustrating,” said boss Maxwell.

“My injury list stands at seven or eight players now.

“This little break we have this weekend may help us.

“You want to get straight back on the horse but the break is a blessing in disguise to get bodies back.”

Striker Splatt, once fit, is an exciting signing for the Brickies.

He was announced as a Ramsgate player a couple of weeks ago but with the Thanet club landing Joe Taylor, Splatt was allowed to move on.

“Javaun’s a very good player,” said Maxwell.

“He’s 22, with a good previous record.

“Ramsgate signed him and then he found himself second in the pecking order after they signed Joe Taylor.

“I’ve always been a fan of his. I like him a lot.

“I had my eye on him when I was manager at Braintree - I spoke to him then - and I’m delighted to bring him to Sittingbourne.

“I watched him at Billericay last year when he had a little spell there and he made a good impact.

“He’s got a lot of tools and I want to get the best out of those tools and see where we can help him in certain areas.

“We want to make this a home for him and get his confidence sky-high, so he can be the player I know he can be.

“He knows he has to get his head down here and work hard and that’s why he’s here.”

Substitutes Josh Osude and Ayman El-Moghaebel struck as Sittingbourne battled back from 2-0 down against Cray Valley.

El-Moghaebel’s 89th-minute goal looked set to secure a point but Adam Coombes headed a last-gasp winner for the Millers as Sittingbourne finished the game with a makeshift backline.

Maxwell said: “It was quite a challenge at 2-0 down but I tip my hat to all the boys who came on.

“They all had a great impact and that’s all you can ask from your subs.

“We certainly didn’t deserve three points - Cray Valley were worthy winners - but we gave a really good account of ourselves in the second half having not been at the races in the first half for various reasons.

“To have the injuries we did and to give a team as good as Cray Valley a game the way we did, I’m actually quite proud of the players.”

The game gave Maxwell a chance to catch up with former Gravesend team-mate Steve McKimm, who was taking charge of Cray Valley for the first time.

“We had a good, honest chat, as Steve and I do, after the game,” said Maxwell.

“There were no complaints from me about the result - they were the better side on the day.

“I said to Steve if we’d got the draw we’d have nicked it; if they’d ended up with a draw they have been hard done by.

“We wished each other well.

“He’s one of the very few that I can say I get on with as a manager because he doesn’t play up to pretence.

“He’s a lot more honest than most and that’s why we get on so very well.”

Sittingbourne beat Sevenoaks 4-3 on penalties following a 3-3 draw in the first round of the Vitality Cup on Tuesday.