GAVAN Holohan is being monitored by Hartlepool United's medical staff on a daily basis after a recent scan suggested his injury might be more severe. 

Holohan picked up the problem in the later stages of Pools 1-0 defeat to Tranmere Rovers nearly a fortnight ago and was forced to come off. 

The 29-year-old, who has scored twice this season and been nominated for the League Two Goal of the Month award, hasn't played since the game at Prenton Park. 

Holohan has been a key figure in Dave Challinor's side this season and for a number of years thanks to his energy in midfield and ability to score goals and create in the forward areas. 

While a recent scan suggested he might be out for a number of weeks, the club's medical staff are operating on how the player feels. 

Challinor said: “It’s more of an abductor problem. He had a little bit last year. He then felt something within the Tranmere and was having a little rub on it but it felt more tight than anything else than it felt serious.

“He obviously then came off towards the back end of the game but more in the fact that we wanted to put more of a forward player on the pitch, instead of someone who was feeling something on the pitch. We wouldn’t have brought him off otherwise.

“We were looking at treating it conservatively if I’m honest because there were no major concerns from our perspective.

“We had a scan. The scan points towards something a little bit more severe than what we thought and how he’s showing in symptoms doesn’t register with that. It doesn’t mark up to that.

“Really rather than looking at a scan and seeing that he’s going to be out for three or four weeks, we’re looking at it and saying the symptoms he’s got don’t really point towards that so rather than take the negative approach and saying he’s going to be out for that long, we’re looking at it on how he’s feeling within himself.

“We hope he’s closer than what that is potentially saying so as I say, it’s a day to day thing. More dealing with the symptoms than what a photograph with inside his body is telling us.”

The Pools boss' interesting take on scan results will hopefully swing in his favour as they look to bring Holohan back into the fold sooner rather than later. 

Pools Irish midfielder has now missed two games which include the 1-0 win over Bristol Rovers and 1-0 midweek defeat to Sutton United. 

Challinor likened the situation to a similar injury diagnosis current first-team coach Antony Sweeney had during his playing days at the club. 

“Scans normally give you differential diagnosis of what’s going on" Challinor added. 

“But there’s been lots of different things with players. We go back to Sween’s one when he was playing.

“He did his hamstring, he went for a scan and was told it was a grade three which is virtually a ruptured hamstring. Buster who was there at the time said there’s no way that’s a grade three hamstring injury.

“One picture was shown where it looked like a grade three, the other pictures didn’t point towards that. You’re always going to look at worse case scenario but it was a grade one, he was out for less than seven days.

“As much as scans can be great as it gives you differential diagnosis to tell you what’s there, everyone is different. As much as you can put things in little boxes with a scan, ultimately as a player who feels one thing and their pain tolerance might be completely different to another player so you have to treat things based on players feelings and symptoms.

“If that scan is right and is what it says then there’s nothing ventured, nothing gained. It makes no difference. We’re just thinking of a shorter term solution to try and get him (Holohan) back as quick as possible.”