Darlington striker Danny Mellanby faces up to six weeks on the sidelines after suffering a suspected cracked rib in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Durham City.

The 24-year-old will undergo a scan today to determine the extent of the injury after colliding with a Durham player.

And Tait, who has already lost goalkeeper Andy Collett for three months, now faces an anxious wait before learning of Mellanby's fate.

"He's having a scan on Monday but we might not know how serious it is for another week or two," said Tait.

"He wasn't kept in hospital overnight so hopefully it isn't too serious. If he is given the all-clear then he should be back in a couple of weeks. If not we could be looking at six weeks."

Mellanby has started in all three of Quakers' pre-season games and appeared to be the leading contender to spearhead the attack alongside Barry Conlon next season.

But the former Bishop Auckland forward, who struggled to hold down a regular place last season following a number of injury setbacks, may have to endure more frustration on the treatment table.

"It's incredible how unlucky Danny has been with injuries but unfortunately these things happen," said Tait.

An Ashley Nicholls header just before half-time extended Quakers' unbeaten run in pre-season to three games after former Hartlepool striker Stephen Halliday had given the home side the lead on 24 minutes with a superb effort into the top corner of the net.

And Tait, who takes his side up to Scotland to face Queen of the South on Wednesday, was satisfied with the performance, just 24 hours after a behind-closed-doors game with Middlesbrough.

"Considering we played the day before I thought we did very well," said Tait.

"It showed because there wasn't any sharpness but it was great for the fitness. We controlled the game from start to finish, we just didn't have any zip about us.

"It was an excellent training session for us because for the first 45 minutes they never got a kick of the ball."

Tait made a number of changes after the interval including the introduction of defender Simon Betts, who is a free agent after failing to agree reduced terms.

"Simon wants to stay fit and has been training with us while he looks for a new club," said Tait.

Durham City: Newton, Lake, Howe, Stephenson, Kitchen, Mudd, Ainsley, O'Donovan, Shaw, Halliday, Stewart Subs: Hutton, Bramley, Canavan, Herbert, Maughan, Gwynn, Stanger, Butler, Healer, Brown, Dawson, Keegan, Walklate, Anthony, Gilmore

Darlington: Price, Liddle, Pearson, Clarke, Valentine, Wainwright, Maddison, Nicholls, Keltie, Conlon, Mellanby Subs: Betts, McGurk, Waller, Fishlock, Clark.

Read more about the Quakers here.