Barnet head coach Martin Allen is hopeful captain Charlie MacDonald will be fit to return in the month after suffering knee ligament damage against Dover Athletic.

The 33-year-old was substituted before half-time of the Bees' 3-0 win over the Kent side last Wednesday and has since missed the draw at AFC Telford United and last night's defeat by Wrexham.

Speaking after Barnet's 1-0 defeat by the Dragons, Allen revealed MacDonald would hopefully return tp fitness within a month.

The Bees boss was also able to give timeframes for Mauro Vilhete and Jack Saville, who have also missed Barnet's last two.

He said: "Mauro is back jogging now so hopefully he’ll be back soon and Charlie MacDonald should be back within a month. Jack Saville has still got an ankle ligament problem so that is probably another two to three weeks minimum."

With five league goals, MacDonald is Barnet's second-highest scorer this term and despite the Bees drawing a blank for the first time this season against Wrexham, Allen refused to blame the striker's absence.

Said Allen: "I don’t look at people that are missing, I look at what we’ve got. Charlie is not fit to play. I thought that tonight Nurse played really well to be honest. I think perhaps I should have left him on for longer because he was superb for our team."