Cliftonville are facing a nervous wait over versatile defender Aaron Donnelly who picked up a knee injury in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Ballymena United.
Donnelly, who started in midfield against the Sky Blues, was withdrawn at half-time and is set to undergo a scan when the swelling subsides.
“Aaron took a bang on the knee and it flared up,” said Reds boss Paddy McLaughlin. “He tried to run it off but it seemed to be getting worse, so he’s a bit worried about it.
“It’s obviously a bit of a concern when it’s the knee and you’d be worried about that, so we couldn’t take any risks and took him off.
“We’ll see how it settles over the next 24 or 48 hours. It might just be a bad bang, but we’ll probably have to book him in (for a scan) and get it looked at.
“We’re hoping for the best but you never know. It’s disappointing because Aaron has been playing well for us in midfield in recent weeks.”
Cliftonville stayed top of the table, two points clear of Linfield, thanks to Ryan Curran’s 68th minute winner, his close range shot squirming beyond United keeper Jordan Williamson.
Remarkably, the Reds have now gone 35 games without defeat every time Curran has scored for them in the league since joining the club in 2018.
“It’s a brilliant record to have and long may it continue,” said McLaughlin.
“Ryan is a key player for us and he has produced key moments like that time and time again.
“It was a hard fought win against Ballymena. They were better than us in the first half, but we reset at the break and we were better and created chances in the second half.”
