NEWPORT County AFC manager Terry Butcher has his first injury crisis just three games into pre-season.

The Exiles boss could be without up to nine players for Saturday’s trip to Torquay United and he says he might be struggling to pick a team.

Latest signing Scott Boden is not yet fit enough to feature and defenders Scott Barrow, Danny Holmes and Matt Taylor were all forced off in Tuesday’s defeat at Bath City.

They join long-term absentee Andrew Hughes and teammates Kevin Feely, Nathan Ralph, Yan Klukowski and Alex Rodman in the treatment room this week.

A new first team physio has been appointed but is still working out his notice period with the NHS.

Butcher, who is already working with a reduced budget and a smaller squad than his predecessors, admits the injuries aren’t making his job any easier.

“When you get injuries to three of the back four it certainly doesn’t help stability,” he said following the defeat at Twerton Park.

“Danny Holmes has got a sore knee. He felt something as he planted his foot down.

“Matty Taylor has got a tight hamstring but I don’t think that’s too serious.

“And Scott Barrow turned his ankle over before the game and then did it again in a tackle in the first half so he had to come off at half-time.

“I’m still a man down with Andrew Hughes – he won’t be back until September or October – so the squad is very thin.

“Scott Boden needs a pre-season,” he added. “He’s not had any fitness work so he’ll be some time.

“Kevin Feely will be some time and we’ve got knocks and niggles to quite a few players now.

“Torquay will be a difficult one to select because I haven’t got that many players available.”

Trialists Dave Vincent, Elliot Scotcher and Branimir Kostadinov are likely to play at Torquay before Butcher makes a decision on them but the Exiles boss says money is tight.

“I haven’t got that much to spend now so it’s not going to be that many [more] coming in,” he said.

“I can’t put a number on it – I’m looking to get in as many as I possibly can to squeeze the budget.”

But the former England captain insists that the departure of chairman Les Scadding has not affected the recruitment process.

“It's disappointing with Les Scadding going, but he's got his own reasons for that and he's supported the club brilliantly in the past," said Butcher.

“But it's not affected me at all. I know what I have to spend and I know what we have to do and we'll certainly work hard.

“Players have shown a great willingness to come here, they really have.

“Some players have made sacrifices in terms of taking lower wages to come to us. That’s brilliant and we applaud them for that.”