Dandy Town may be a few weeks away from opening the defence of their Premier Division crown, however the Hornets have already been dealt a potentially crippling blow, with premier attacker Carlos Smith lost for at least six weeks - and possibly the season.

The speedy attacker, who had to be stretchered off the pitch after damaging his right knee after being cut down by Devonshire Colts defender Dennis Zuill during the 2-1 Charity Cup win last weekend, yesterday underwent arthroscopic surgery in an attempt to identify the extent of the injury.

It is not known what the complete findings of the exploratory procedure conducted by Dr. Chelvan were, however, the Town camp are hopeful that there is no more than cartilage damage and the fractured minor bone of the knee - that injury was identified prior to yesterday's surgery - which would precipitate a more speedier recovery and return to the squad.

"We know he's going to be out for a while, it's just a question of how long, but I would think we will have to do without him for a minimum of six weeks, and if there's ligament damage as well then he'll likely be gone for the season," said a team spokesman.

"We're hopeful of the best right now, because it won't be until after they go in with the scope (that the full extent is known).

"If it's cartilage they can fix it right there and then, even if it's just the bone that's fractured, but if it's ligaments you know it's a lot more serious."

Asked just how damaging the loss of Smith for an extended period might be to the side's hopes of a successful defence, the spokesman expressed confidence in the rest of the squad being able to pick up the slack.

However, one aspect of Smith's game they will likely find no alternative for is the forward's blazing pace which has resulted in Town being able to put pressure on rival defences and open vital gaps.

"We would like to think that we have enough team depth to compensate, although he'll definitely be a miss ... we have a couple of other options," continued the spokesman who was particularly perturbed by the fact that the injury occurred in a match of no real consequence.

"What really hurts about it is that he got this in a virtually meaningless game that has no bearing on what we're trying to do, which is once again focus on the league and defend the title we won last season."