Will Patching ruled out of Waterford visit but Ruaidhrí Higgins won't fast track Ciaron Harkin's return

Derry City boss Ruaidhrí Higgins revealed the reason the midfielder was replaced in the starting line-up by Jordan McEneff minutes before kick-off in the 2-2 draw with Shamrock Rovers as the ex-Man City youth joins a growing list of absentees just five weeks into the new season.

It's another blow to Derry's midfield department as he joins Sadou Diallo (knee) and Cameron Dummigan (ankle) in the treatment room while Ciaron Harkin continues his recovery from rupturing his ACL.

However, Higgins did deliver some good news on the injury front as skipper Patrick McEleney could be available for the Candy Stripes this weekend to bolster those midfield options following his thigh strain sustained at the Sligo Showgrounds.

"Will Patching pulled up with a minor thigh issue in the warm-up so he won’t be available this weekend but it won’t be too long at all," confirmed the Derry boss. "Patrick will be touch and go this weekend; we haven’t ruled him in or out yet, so we’ll see how the week develops, but we need to think of the bigger picture too. He;s going well at the minute. Outside of that, it's more or less the same we've had in previous fixtures."

With Harkin making his long awaited return to the pitch for the U20s last Saturday after two years of 'hell' and rehabilitation work, Higgins was delighted to see the Creggan man edge closer to first team duties. However, the City boss insists he won't rush the player back despite the team's central midfield issues.

"I'm delighted for him. It's been two years of hell but you wouldn't think that because of the way he comes in every day. He's very much the centre of our dressing room. The players love him, the staff love him, he comes in every day with a smile on his face.

"He's so, so important. He represents the values of this club and he's got a real deep connection with the club and it's really important to have them players around. You can see him getting sharper week by week and hopefully with a few more practice games under his belt he'll be ready to go."

Higgins isn't tempted to fast-track his return as he safeguards the players' welfare and best interests.

"When you've missed two years, you have to think of the player as well. We have to do right by him because there's not a chance we could rush him and then something happened to him again. You'd never forgive yourself.

"You could ruin the lad's career so it's really, really important regardless of the issues we have in that part of the pitch. We won't do that, it's not fair on him. It might help me but it's definitely not fair on him. To spend two years watching his teammates on the sideline, we're not prepared to take any risks with that."