Devonshire Cougars striker Philip Clarke will be out for the rest of this month -- and possibly the rest of the season depending on how quickly he recovers from a hamstring pull suffered in last weekend's league match against Somerset Trojans.

That's bad news for relegation-threatened Cougars who have plenty at stake in the coming weeks, including matches in the semi-finals of both the Friendship Trophy and FA Cup as well as important league fixtures.

"It depends on how quickly it responds to treatment,'' said the former Bermuda international striker this week. "We'll have to see how it goes. It might be for the rest of the season.

"It's not torn but it's a pretty bad pull. It just started to loosen up a bit today. I've been icing it for the last couple of days, plus I had ultrasound treatment on it today.'' Together with Clevie Campbell, Clarke forms one of the most feared strike combinations in the First Division. Their goals -- nine for Campbell and five for Clarke -- have been largely responsible for the recovery Cougars made after a slow start to the campaign saw them lose four of their first five matches.

Now they are in another slump of sorts, with last weekend's loss to the Trojans combined with the draw against BAA the previous weekend keeping them anchored near the bottom.

"I definitely won't be back before the end of this month, and that's about two weeks,'' Clarke confirmed.

"Right now I'm looking at no less than four weeks, but I'm going to do all I can to get back in shape. I'm going to see a massage therapist this week to see if he can work into the muscle and break up all the scar tissue. That would help as well.'' This weekend Cougars resume their fight for First Division survival, which Clarke stresses is the club's priority despite their success in the two cups, when they take on another one of the top teams, Dandy Town.

Victory could lift Cougars at least two places up the standings while a loss would leave them too close to the relegation door for comfort. On Tuesday at PHC Stadium, Cougars will be in action again when they take on Somerset in the first Friendship semi-final.

"We're really concentrating more on the league, trying to stay up,'' said Clarke. "The FA Cup and Friendship would be bonuses for us but the main thing is to stay up and hopefully we'll be able to do that.

"I think our main problem is getting our midfield in order. If we can get that in order we'll be alright. Right now we definitely are struggling, especially in the middle of the park. The midfield is not giving us the right service up front. We're having to create a lot for ourselves.'' Added Clarke: "The defence is really what has helped us out so far. They have been the mainstay for us, but now we've got to work on the top (front) six.

We're always coming from behind and that's because we've not been able to get going, coming out of the middle of the park. It's been flat, too flat.'' Tonight the league leading Trojans take on PHC at Somerset at 9.00, preceded at 7.00 by a women's match between PHC and Dandy Stars.

Just three First Division matches are scheduled for tomorrow, but all are important. The other two see Vasco meeting third-placed Boulevard at PHC Stadium and St. George's taking on North Village at Wellington Oval in a clash of two mid-table teams.

St. George's are bidding for their third win over Village this season, though they will have to do it without their top scorer Clay Smith who is serving a one match ban.

In the Second Division Southampton should move another step closer to the title when they take on bottom team Paget at Southampton Oval. The battle for the second promotion spot should continue as second-placed Somerset Eagles travel to Police Field to meet Prospect in what will be the first of two meetings between the teams in three days as they also play on Tuesday night in the Shield semi-final.

In other matches tomorrow, St. David's are at home to Port Royal -- third and fourth-placed teams -- while Social Club travel to Wellington Oval to meet Hamilton Parish.