Double blow for Cobblers

Northampton have been hit with a double injury blow with the news that Tadhg Purcell and Ryan Gilligan are facing lengthy spells on the sidelines.Purcell - a summer signing from Darlington - damaged his cruciate knee ligament in last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Wycombe and has been ruled out for the rest of the season while midfielder Gilligan requires surgery on an ankle problem and will be out for three months.Manager Ian Sampson said: "It's bad news, Tadhg is out for the season."The scans have shown that it is a devastating injury for the boy, his cruciate ligament has been ruptured and his lateral ligament has been damaged as well."Ryan has a bone growth on his ankle which has been troubling him for some time. It's got to the point where he can't play on it so the only option is this surgery."I will have to bring players in now and luckily I have some money to spend on wages thanks to the Carling Cup draw at Liverpool."