SOUTHEND United midfielder Timothee Dieng is rated 50/50 for tomorrow’s game at Bristol Rovers.

The Frenchman suffered a calf problem during Tuesday night’s 2-0 defeat at Luton Town.

And Blues boss Chris Powell is unsure whether or not Dieng will recover in time to take on the Pirates.

“Tim is 50/50 but we’ll find out more today,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“It’s a real shame because he’s made an impression on everyone.

“He’s my type of midfielder and he’s added to what we’ve got in there.

“I wanted him to settle in and get going but he took another whack on Saturday and aggravated it Tuesday and that’s what happens when you play Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday.

“There’s not much time to recover so he’s touch and go for the weekend.”

Should Dieng fail to recover then summer signing Luke Hyam is expected to return to the starting line-up.

Hyam replaced Dieng at half-time against Luton and is on standby to start tomorrow as Dru Yearwood remains sidelined with a hamstring problem.

Yearwood has yet to feature this season and Powell feels the youngster is still a couple of weeks away from returning to full training.

“Dru’s doing a lot of work and he’s almost doing a mini pre-season himself now,” said Powell.

“It’s encouraging but he hasn’t joined in with us yet and he’s probably a week or two away from that.”

Goalkeeper Ted Smith (shoulder) and centre-back Rob Kiernan (knees) are also still injured while centre-back Harry Lennon remains on the sidelines with a fractured toe.

“It’s slow progress for Harry and he’s still in a boot,” said Powell.

“He’s coming in and doing work but he’s still in a boot at present.”

And winger Sam Barratt is expected to be missing for the rest of the season with his knee injury.

“It looks as if it will be season ending, which is a real shame,” said Powell.

“We’ll find out for certain very soon.”

But that could well result in Powell looking to make more loan signings.

“One area we’re lacking in is out wide,” said Powell.

“We could get help there and I may look at other areas depending on the fitness of others.”