Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver has said he is happy with the squad he has and that he will not be bringing any more players to the club before the transfer deadline on Monday (September 1).

In a recent interview with the club, the manager said that he has “really good players” and a healthy competition for places with “no one sulking” at present.

But with a squad of 24 players, do they have enough strength in depth?

A busy summer

Despite starting the summer with only 11 first-team players, Harrogate have recruited well in the summer transfer window.

Many of the eight players brought in have hit the ground running in North Yorkshire. Jack Evans, Lewis Cass, Tom Bradbury and Shawn McCoulsky have all slotted straight into the starting 11, and although Conor McAleny scored 3 minutes into his debut, new attacker Reece Smith’s performances have kept him out of it.

Harrogate currently sit in 11th place after picking up some strong results, despite being handed a tough start to the season.

Despite Simon Weaver’s insistence that they only want to get to safety as quickly as possible, Harrogate’s new-look attack may have supporters wondering if they can push for a play-off spot this year.

But there is a long season ahead for Simon Weaver, and the congested Christmas period rarely leaves football clubs unscathed from injuries.

An injury-prone squad?

Weaver has recruited well in the sense that none of the eight players brought to the club this summer have overly worrying injury records, despite Jack Evans’ history with a recurring ankle injury.

Although Mason Bennett sustained an injury that put him out for several weeks during Harrogate’s opener against Bristol Rovers, he has been widely available for his various clubs throughout his career.

But there could be room for concern about the players who were already at the club.

Last year, Harrogate were plagued by injuries across the season. George Thomson’s Achilles problems saw him make one appearance all season, while Hamstring injuries saw Liam Gibson, Levi Sutton and Tom Hill all miss significant parts of the campaign.

Ben Fox, who signed in January with Hill, has also spent some time on the sidelines due to various small knocks. The midfielder sustained some major injuries during his time at Northampton and Burton, too.

Key injuries could buckle Town

Should Harrogate endure an injury crisis like last year’s, it could be massively hindering to their final league standing.

And if any of their key players were to get injured, Simon Weaver would have to turn to some of his more injury-prone squad members.

Take the midfield, for example. Should Jack Evans or Bryn Morris sustain lengthy injuries, the baton would be passed to Fox, Hill or Sutton.

A Warren Burrell injury would leave the left-back position to Liam Gibson, who has struggled for fitness over the past year.

No one is doubting the ability of any of these players – Ben Fox and Tom Hill looked like two of Town’s most promising players when they signed in January, before their respective injuries. Gibson and Sutton are both established players in Simon Weaver’s side.

But none of them have had much chance to build match sharpness, and could be at an increased risk of injury because of it.

Simon Weaver did give that opportunity to much of his squad against Lincoln in the Carabao Cup — with Hill, Fox, and Gibson all starting — but a 3-1 defeat means the extra cup games will no longer be afforded to him.

Tom Cursons, too, has had very little time to build match sharpness, having only featured against Lincoln and Grimsby, and not even making the matchday squad in Town’s other fixtures this year.

Should Mason Bennett and Shawn McCoulsky get injured at the same time, Harrogate’s number nine role would fall to Cursons and Jack Muldoon, who is also lacking sharpness.

Where does the problem lie?

So, are there too many injury-prone players in the squad or is there a problem somewhere else?

When we interviewed Weaver at Harrogate's first home pre-season match in July, he said the club was always “asking the right questions” about why it had seen so many injuries, but that it was “hard to find a recurring theme”.

He added:

Harrogate have since announced plans to build a training facility near Wetherby Racecourse, but that may not be ready for another few years.

Registration

The EFL’s registration rules for League One and League Two mean that Harrogate Town could still bring in two players before the deadline on Monday.

As goalkeepers and under-21 players don’t need to be registered, Harrogate have a total of 20 players registered from a maximum of 22.

When we asked the question of whether Harrogate should sign more players in a Harrogate Town fan forum, one supporter said:

Another fan added:

With two days to go until the deadline, it will be interesting to see if Weaver sticks to his guns, or is tempted by another addition to his Harrogate Town squad.