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Tonbridge captain Tom Parkinson could be out for the season.
Parkinson hasn’t played since suffering his second serious ankle injury in March.
He’d been hoping to return around October/November, but that’s no longer realistic for the midfielder.
Angels boss Steve McKimm said: “It’s a long, slow process but it’s something he’s determined to get right and he will do.
“October/November is going to be far too soon. Even if he doesn’t get back this season, the main thing is he gets the ankle right.
“It’s more important that he’s able to walk in the future than the short-term gain of getting him out of the pitch.”
Fellow midfielder Tom Beere remains sidelined with a knee injury and there’s no timescale for his return.
McKimm added: “Again, it’s a slow process.
“He’s eager to get on the pitch but he needs to be 100%. He’s doing all the right stuff but he’s a frustrated figure because he wants to be playing football.
“I can’t put a time on it because you never know with these things.”
Tonbridge lost 2-1 at Chippenham last weekend – Tom Derry with an 89th-minute penalty consolation – and host third-placed Hemel Hempstead this weekend.
McKimm wants to go on a run with Angels 19th after 10 games of the National League South season.
He said: “Maybe I was a bit harsh on the players after Chippenham but we weren’t on the front foot and in their faces like we had been in the two previous games.
“That was the disappointing aspect because if we’d won that would have been a nice little return of seven points out of nine.
“That’s the sort of thing we’ve got to be looking at.
“Every game is hard in this league but we need to try and get a little run going over these next 10 games and find some consistency.
“What we don’t want to do is get 20 games in and find ourselves adrift.
“Let’s see what we can do against Hemel.
“They’ve got a good manager and good players and they’ll be on the front foot coming here third in the league and looking to get second.
“It’ll be a hell of a tough game but we’ll do the best we can and whatever happens, happens.
“I can’t foresee the result. All I can do is try and prepare the players to give their all, which they have done in every game.
“It’s a given that you have to work hard and run around – that’s football.
“The other aspects – make less mistakes, quality on the ball, taking your chances – are things we need to work on as a management staff but I can’t question the work rate.”
Midfielder D’Sean Theobalds has been named Tonbridge’s player-of-the-month for August.
