Delmonte: I know how Arsene Wenger feels

Delmonte's men are still in contention for the league title with a game in hand on their nearest rivals, while they also face Leeds Maccabi in the quarter-finals of the Peter Morrison Trophy.

And Delmonte says next week's clash against their Yorkshire rivals could be a real mismatch with Manchester's players falling like flies.

"I've never known anything like this and at the moment I won't even be able to field a team," he said. "I feel like Arsene Wenger because like Arsenal, we've gone out of three cups in the space of a couple of weeks and now we could go out of a third and lose out on the league.

"It's the worst injury crisis I've ever seen and it's quite unbelievable. It has been absolutely horrendous.

"We already had five players out against Tameside and now we've got another three. If we don't get a few back for the Leeds game then it could be embarrassing."

Delmonte looks certain to lose star striker Adam Lavin, who suffered an ankle injury after catching his foot in the grass during last week's defeat.

Josh Lewis was also forced off with a hamstring problem as Maccabi finished the game with just nine men.

"We had to play two at the back for the last 25 minutes because we didn't have anyone else," added Delmonte.

"At the moment, I'm trying to get our next league game postponed because I cannot produce a team.

"There's nothing I can do. I'll have to pull off a Jose Mourinho if we're going to get anything from the next game."