ARGYLE Head Coach Paul Mariner admitted he has a major selection decision ahead of Saturday's trip to Barnsley.

The loss of Karl Duguid to a sprained ankle against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday was compounded by his replacement, David McNamee, hobbling out of Tuesday's defeat to Reading.

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"When you have the type of squad that we have, you can't lose your first-line people - it's very difficult," said Mariner.

"We lost Duguid on Saturday and we had to readjust. David comes back, he hasn't played a lot of football and he did a reasonable job on Saturday.

"He gets through 60 minutes tonight and he's tried to whip a ball down the line, and his groin tweaked. Hopefully, he's caught it early, so it won't be too long but we've obviously got selection problems on Saturday.

"I''ve got to get an update and the doctor was very hopeful about Duguid today. He has got a chance on Saturday but it does leave us light in that area."

The versatile Chris Clark dropped back to replace McNamee at Reading and he is ready to deputise again if required. "David was unlucky too pick up an injury and I just slotted in at the back," said Clark. "If I have to play right-back on Saturday, I don't mind.