Crawley midfielder Josh Simpson will have a painkilling injection today in a bid to cure a persistent hamstring injury.

Simpson has been sidelined for five weeks but boss John Gregory hopes the treatment will give the transfer-listed former captain an outside chance of being fit to face Port Vale at the Checkatrade.com Stadium next weekend.

Gregory said: “The medical staff have been working overtime with Josh to try to get to the real cause of the problem. Every time we think we have got it sorted he breaks down or the problem resurfaces somewhere else.

“This is almost a last resort to try to get him back into training as it is proving very difficult to get to the bottom of the injury. We’ve been able to get him 80% fit but he hasn’t been able to completely shake off the injury.

“We have established the tendon in his hamstring is fine now so hopefully this will enable him to get back on the training pitch. Port Vale might be too soon but if the epidural works and he is able to train pain free then you never know.”