YORK City will be without Matty Brown for two to four weeks while Michael Duckworth is set to be absent for even longer.

The defensive pair both limped off with hamstring injuries in York's defeat at Chorley on Tuesday night, with the Minstermen already missing Robbie Tinkler and Jack Redshaw for the FA Cup tie.

Ahead of Saturday's home game against Brackley Town, City assistant manager Micky Cummins was able to confirm the likely length of Brown's injury though said that it would take further time to learn the full extent of Duckworth's prognosis.

"Browny is walking on it and he's not feeling it as much so that's probably more of a fatigue-related injury," reported Cummins. "We're thinking two to four weeks maximum for Browny.

"With Ducky, it's more serious. We're going to have to wait another couple of days before the physio can assess him, so it's too early to tell how long he'll be (out). He'll probably be (out) a but longer than Browny.

"Considering he picked it up going into a challenge, it was quite innocuous. Obviously, it's gutting for us and gutting for him. We've got a bit depth in the squad and we can chop and change a few things. But, hopefully he can recover quickly."

Presuming manager Steve Watson and Cummins stick to the five-man defence that has been used so often during their tenure, it looks to be a shootout between Olly Dyson and Owen Gamble to replace right-wing-back Duckworth.

Dyson looked impressive when filling in at the position during the second-half at Chorley and, given that he's played just off target man Jake Cassidy so far this season, his selection may be the most attacking-minded.

Former Sunderland youngster Gamble, who has yet to debut for York since signing in the summer, is the more natural fit, having played in the role during pre-season.

On Dyson, Cummins said: "Olly is technically good on the ball and he told us that he's played left-wing-back before last season.

"It's food for thought. He's an attacking player when he gets on the ball and he's looking to be positive. He filled in the position pretty well. It worked pretty well at the time.

"But moving forward, we'll have to work on things and see how they pan out. I'm certainly not dismissing it."

Cummins added of Gamble: "He's come out of the Sunderland academy and he was in and around the first-team when (Chris) Coleman was there.

"He's solid defensively and more of a defensive-minded wing-back. But he can get up and down (the wing), deliver balls from wide and he's reliable on the ball.

"He can play central midfield too. He's been waiting in the wings, so I'm sure if that opportunity, I'm sure he'll take it."

Josh King could replace centre-back Brown although Robbie Tinkler, who has missed the last couple of games through injury, may be an option having been involved in training on Thursday.

But, with a 24-man squad, York do look to have strength in depth.

"You don't want to be in this situation and have bodies on the physio bench and have long-term injuries or little niggles," added Cummins.

"But, with the way that pre-season has been and the Saturday-Tuesday games coming thick and fast and pitches getting heavy, we're fortunate to be in this position, having the numbers we've got. And we've got reliable players that can slot in."