St Ives Town manager Ricky Marheineke faces the prospect of potentially being without one of his leading players for the rest of 2015.

The Saints chief confirmed midfield man Jack Higgs faces another six to 10 weeks on the sidelines with a serious ankle ligament injury.

Higgs has already missed more than a month of action, but the Southern League Division One (Central) table-toppers are coping well in his absence as they boast plenty of talent in the centre of the park.

Marheineke said: “It will feel like signing one of the best players in the league when Jack is fit to return.

“That’s how highly I rate him and it is obviously a massive blow to lose him for such a length of time.

“But we are also fortunate in that we have a lot of very good midfield players at the club.

“We had lads like Peter Clark and Jared Cunniff ready and waiting to come into the team and we’ve also got Luke Knight, Luca Dusi and Jack Warwick fighting for shirts in there as well.”

Clark picked up a knock when Saints jumped from seventh into pole position in the Division One (Central) standings by beating Hanwell Town on Tuesday night.

Full-back Harry O’Malley headed in the only goal seven minutes before the break at ProEdge Westwood Road after being picked out by captain Luke Knight’s free-kick delivery.

It ensured Saints climbed into the highest league position in their history to set the pace in a division where the top 10 teams are covered by just four points.

They are back on home turf tomorrow when they entertain bottom side North Greenford United.

Sixteen year-old scholar Sam Davidson, a wide player, is set to feature in the squad again after making his debut as a substitute against Hanwell.

Ben Seymour-Shove continues to serve his three-match suspension.