Ebbsfleet hope to discover the extent of Aaron McLean’s knee injury next week.

McLean missed last weekend’s FA Cup win over AFC Sudbury after coming off injured in the league victory at Bishop’s Stortford.

The 33-year-old former Hull and Peterborough forward is still waiting to discover how long he will be sidelined for.

Fleet boss Daryl McMahon said: “At the minute it’s not good news.

“He has another consultation next week. He is going to have keyhole surgery because the scan was a little unclear. We’ll have to wait and see.”

That could open the door again for Darren McQueen to partner Danny Kedwell after the former scored twice last weekend.

But McMahon was keen not to put too much pressure on the former Tottenham and Ipswich forward.

“Darren has been excellent in pre-season,” said McMahon. “He has real genuine pace and a fantastic touch and is a young player who will develop into a really good player.

“He is still ever so young so I don’t want to put too much pressure on him.”

There was good news for McMahon, however, as defender Mark Phillips returned to training earlier this week and Dean Rance (back) is also available for this weekend's visit of St Albans in National League South despite being substituted at half-time against AFC Sudbury.