Striker Greg Peel’s first appearance for Evesham United ended in considerable pain.
The former Leeds United youngster started up front alongside Mark Magee in Tuesday night’s 3-1 friendly defeat by National League North Tamworth at the Jubilee Stadium.
He had felt some discomfort in his back before the game, but after being passed fit to play he suffered a muscle spasm.
Peel, who stands 6ft 5in, had made a long journey south from the North East the day before the game after attending a family wedding, which may have made the issue worse.
Former Cinderford Town defender Nick Rhodes missed out again with a hamstring injury, but Carl Brown and Bradley Gray made their first appearances of the summer.
Former Javelin thrower James Campbell went on for the second half, making his second appearance for the Southern League Division One South and West club along with fellow trialist Nick Hancock.
Nick Stanley and Ashley Williams are still away and are yet to feature in pre-season.
Boss Paul Collicutt plans to keep everyone involved for next week’s games against Cheltenham Town, Worcester City and Halesowen Town before he begins to trim his squad ahead of the new campaign.
“I am happy with the way it’s going and I got more out of the Tamworth game than I did the Gloucester friendly last Saturday (1-1 draw),” Collicutt said.
“Andy Morrell (Tamworth manager) was complimentary about the club both on and off the field and it was a good night for us.
“We have a competitive week coming up with three games in six days including the Worcestershire Senior Cup semi-final against Worcester City.
