Darlington's disastrous search for a striker shows no sign of ending.

Potential new signing Sebastian Ferrero is injured and will now not be joining the club, leaving Quakers with just two forwards on the books.

Manager David Hodgson had earmarked Ferrero as the man to start the season at the club with the Argentine expecting to sign on an non-contract basis. However, the stocky former Raith Rovers man cracked a bone in his foot last weekend.

It means that with just four days to go before the season opener against Grimsby, Quakers' only recognised strikers are Leandro Scartascini and Craig Russell.

Although Neil Wainwright and Matt Clarke have both proved themselves capable of leading the line, the team still clearly needs a goalscorer.

Despite two largely unimpressive displays in friendly matches, Hodgson had been prepared to give Ferrero a chance, but an injury picked up against Peterborough United has curtailed his stay in England.

He scored a tap-in against Blackpool last week but never showed the kind of ability Hodgson said was so evident in training.

The manager, who was last night watching Grimsby in action at Halifax Town, said: "It was soul destroying for me and Proc because in games he was a different player to the one we saw in training.

"What we saw on the training ground was a very different player. He had the ability to hold the ball up, knock it wide and finish like there's no tomorrow.

"We could have put him on non-contract terms to stick him in a proper game to see how he fared but that won't be happening now.

"He's had it looked at and it's a new injury.

"He did think it could have been an old one that he suffered a while ago but it's not and will take a while to heal."

In almost a decade of managing Darlington, Hodgson has earned a reputation for being capable of finding new players in an instant, but despite his best intentions, since Barry Conlon's departure the manager has struggled to fill the gap up-front, leaving him with a major headache.

Hodgson has cast his eye over 21 trialists this summer, ten of which have been strikers, but none, barring Stuart Yetton who arrived from Plymouth on trial only yesterday, have looked the part.

Earlier this summer Hodgson was close to signing Bradford's Dean Windass and had been hoping to re-sign Danny Graham from Middlesbrough after the youngster's successful loan spell last season. He said: "I know the situation we're in is not ideal but believe me it is not for the want of trying.

"Certain things have not gone our way with certain players at certain clubs and we have to accept that.

"But one thing we're not going to do is panic. If we don't have a striker with us by Saturday there's still another 45 games to play after that."

* A Darlington select XI won 3-1 at Guisborough Town last night.

* Darlington will send a squad to Central Avenue tonight to play Billingham Synthonia.

Quakers agreed to step in at the last minute after Middlesbrough were forced to call off a planned game against Synners which clashed with the Real Mallorca match at the Riverside tomorrow night. The game this evening kicks off at 7.30pm.

l Frustrated Hartlepool United skipper Micky Barron must wait until September for his season to start.

Barron goes under the surgeon's knife in Manchester this afternoon to correct a hernia problem, just three months after a similar operation which he believed would put an end to his troubles.

Pool will send a side to Whitby tonight, but it is likely to be a team made up of the reserve and youth squad.

Read more about the Quakers here.