NEWPORT County boss Justin Edinburgh admits the club are suffering another injury crisis with an epidemic in midfield.

County saw their seven game unbeaten run in League Two ended last weekend after a 1-0 reverse to Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium that came with a heavy price.

The Exiles saw midfielder Mark Byrne pick up a fifth yellow card of the campaign, so he’s suspended for Saturday’s visit of York City, while Mike Flynn (hamstring) isn’t ready to return.

And, though Lee Minshull should recover from a groin strain and Max Porter is also back in the squad after a long-term groin issue, the Exiles are definitely without Adam Chapman (ankle) who was injured at Oxford.

That means Edinburgh only has Yan Klukowski and Minshull definitely available and he’s ready to spring a surprise because he has no intention of changing formation.

Striker Danny Crow had been earmarked for a possible attacking midfield role, but he has also suffered an ankle injury and is currently awaiting a scan result and is wearing a protective plastic boot.

And Edinburgh admits he’s starting to feel a little irritated by having to deal with problems concentrated in specific areas of the pitch.

“We are going through this yet again, we seem to just go through stages where we are hit in certain areas,” he said.

“Last year at the start of the season we had it with our goalkeepers, then our strikers and then the centre halves in the early part of this season and now we have it in the central midfield area,” he said.

“That’s one for me as a manager; we’ve probably got two natural midfielders ok to start on Saturday and three positions to fill. Because I don’t envisage changing the system which I believe suits us very well.

“I don’t want to tinker with the formation, we think we have one or two positive ideas but this game is difficult for us in midfield.

“Adam Chapman won’t play, Mark Byrne is suspended and I think it is too soon for Max Porter or Mike Flynn to start, though both are in contention for the squad.

“Mark and Adam have been especially key for us, we can’t hide away from that but it’s a test of the other players to step up and to come in and impress.”

Edinburgh was full of praise for Porter after his recovery, the ex-skipper having endured a horrific time with groin injuries since joining Newport.

“We are extra cautious with Max, he epitomises what I want us to be about on the pitch but it’s been a really frustrating time for him,” he said.

“We need to be careful with him, we’ve tinkered his training sessions a little bit and we got him right last year when he returned – he didn’t break down and again - and our aim is to do the same thing now.”