As touched upon in the preview but deserving a headline all of its own, Southend's own personal rottweiller, Alan McCormack, may miss the opening league fixture against Peterborough on August 9.
"A couple of raw steaks by the weekend and I'll be fine".
Speaking to the official site Macca said; "I did it last week and our physio John Stannard was a little bit concerned so I had a couple of days off training before joining in again on Saturday. I went to pass the ball into the back of the net though and landed awkwardly again on it. It's locked and become a little worse. We're not sure if it's cartiladge damage or just some fluid that has leaked onto my knee but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good news".
With such a small squad the loss of any first teamer is a worry but to lose one of the best midfield partnerships in the division is a major blow. We hope the news is positive and the tough tackling midfielder can play some part in Southend's last friendly game at Wycombe on Saturday.
If not we might be seeing more of the Moose than we expected at this stage of the season!