Nat Sylvester's City Slicker column

MUCH-missed Worcester City striker Mark Owen is due to have the pins removed from his broken leg today and begin the long road to recovery from his double fracture and ankle dislocation.

If any proof were needed about how much his absence has hit City, it is that more than six weeks after his injury he still remains top scorer with 14 Dr Martens Premier League goals -- twice as many as second-placed Phil Stant.

Stant, though, is steadily closing the gap with 12 goals from 21 appearances in all competitions -- a remarkable achievement for a 39-year-old who is often playing two games in three days and who has been hampered with an Achilles injury.

Owen's only problem now is finding a berth in Archie Richards overflowing treatment room whose recent additions include Stant (Achilles), Andy Ellis (ankle) and Jon Holloway (ankle).

Holloway is hoping to be fit for the weekend after hobbling out of the Crawley match, but he was still treading gingerly on Monday night.

Striker Mark Shepherd suffered concussion in the same match, which was why he was substitute against Moor Green, and despite his late appearance for Stant, admitted he didn't feel 100 per cent fit.

Dwaine McFarlane (thigh) is optimistic he will be fit to face Newport County on Saturday after missing the last four matches.

The long-running saga of Darren Middleton's knee scan was due to be concluded yesterday after a previous visit was cancelled because the machine broke.

His experiences have brought into contrast the reality of life in non-league football where players have to rely on the National Health Service or fork out money from their own pocket to speed things up.

Current NHS waiting lists for a knee scan are six to nine months, but fortunately Middleton will not have to wait that long courtesy of the club. Luckily for the midfielder his NHS experiences have not been too bad, thanks largely to an Italian consultant at Burton Hospital called Mr Bindi who loves football and Manchester City.

"He's been top man in fixing up appointments and bringing forward physio when I've needed it and generally been very accommodating," said Middleton, who fears he may have a tear in his cartilage.

The Dr Martens League Cup has thrown up an interesting clash against Bedworth United next Tuesday and begs the £3,000 - £10,000 - or even million dollar question - just whose colours are Adam Webster and James Richardson going to be lining up in?