AFC TOTTON are not sure how long they will be without goalkeeper Shane Murphy after he suffered a fractured skull.

Manager Louis Langdown says he will be “led by the doctors and Shane himself” following the awful events of Tuesday night when the 25-year-old took a blow to the head in an accidental collision with Horndean’s Fuzz Kanjanda in the Hampshire Senior Cup.

The former Dorchester keeper spent all night in hospital and admitted in a tweet on Wednesday that he was “a little bit scared”.

Langdown explained: “Shane’s got a follow-up appointment to find out the severity of it and what he has to do going forward.

“I’m not sure how long he’ll be out. We’ll be led by the doctors and by Shane.”

“He was out cold for a few seconds and you could tell he was disorientated. The players could see straight away that it was serious and signalled to the bench for a substitution to be made.

"It took time to get him off the pitch and at half-time he was still being seen to by the medical staff before he went to hospital.

“A big lump came up around the temple area. It was horrible.

“Shane was still a bit groggy and in pain when I spoke to him yesterday,” Langdown added.

“A head injury is always serious, but I expect him to come through this. I think he’ll come back.

“He’s a brave lad and I’ve seen him make saves like that at a player’s feet countless times.

“Luck’s not with us at the moment. We’ve now lost Shane, our supporters’ player-of-the-season from last year, and Jack Masterton (dislocated shoulder) who won the manager’s award.”

Although Totton have teenager Josh Cotton to call on for Saturday’s Evo-Stik Division One South trip to Fleet Town, Langdown would ideally like to bring in a more experienced keeper on loan.

“We rate Josh highly, but he is only 17 and trains with Eastleigh in their scholarship scheme,” said the boss.

“Ideally we either need someone who’s not playing and needs games in the short-term or someone to come in and push Shane for the shirt.”

On the plus side, striker Justin Bennett came through 45 minutes against Horndean as he continues the journey back from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.