Somerset Eagles, who kicked off the season in fine style with a 3-0 Martonmere Cup victory over Dandy Town, are facing an early season injury crisis.

Several of their key players are nursing injuries including midfielders Duval Binns (fractured left forearm), Nakia Smith (torn left ankle ligaments), Sean Dill (left thigh strain) and hard tackling utility player Sean Simmons who broke his left wrist during Sunday's win at BAA.

But two-goal hero against Town, veteran sweeper Musceo Hunt is not about to press the panic button just yet.

"Sean is going to be out for a while. But I don't think it will be for the entire season," said an optimistic Hunt yesterday. "Those sorts of injuries usually take up to six weeks to heal."

Smith tore ligaments to his left ankle during a mid-summer six-a-side tournament.

"His cast is actually off now," said Hunt. "And he is now undergoing rehabilitation to strengthen his ankle."

Like Smith, Binns suffered his injury over the summer months and is expected to be back in action by mid-October, while Dill could possibly return to the team in time for their next Martonmere Cup encounter.

Reflecting upon his team's impressive win over Town, Hunt said: "We certainly took advantage of our opportunities . And all of the hard work which we put in over the preseason in preparation for these cup games paid off."

But he hoped things would get even better as the season progressed.

"It's always going to be a challenge for us no matter who we come up against," said Hunt. "So it is up to us to stand up to those challenges in order to prevail. The guys understand what sort of effort it is going to take."

Hunt said reaching last season's Friendship Trophy final had provided the team with a solid foundation from which to build.

"The guys have a new attitude," he added. "And hopefully we can have some of our injured players back before the league season starts because to us the league is more important than the cup games - even though we would like to do well in the cup competitions.

"Being able to reach that level (Friendship Trophy final) has shown our players what it is required in order to play consistently and be successful against our opponents. That's what they needed - that experience.

"And so now having had the experience of reaching a major cup final the guys now know what they need to do in order to succeed."

Hunt and another former Somerset Trojan, Shannon Morrisey, are currently assisting new coach Gary Mallory with the team.