Dartford goalkeeper Deren Ibrahim likely to miss the rest of the season after injuring his shoulder at Maidstone United
00:00, 12 April 2016
updated: 13:13, 12 April 2016
Dartford goalkeeper Deren Ibrahim is unlikely to play again this season.
He dislocated his shoulder during the Darts' 2-1 win at Maidstone on Saturday and had to be replaced by defender Lee Burns for the last couple of minutes.
Ibrahim's injury leaves play-off hopefuls Dartford with a real issue in goal as they have gone through most of the season with only one registered senior keeper.
Manager Tony Burman said: "Deren’s had x-rays which revealed the shoulder has gone back into place and he hasn’t got any damage. He’s having an MRI scan on Thursday and hopefully that will reveal what can or can’t be done but it’s one of those things.
"His shoulder’s come out and gone back in and he’s got some swelling there and some fluid which is going to make it very difficult for him.
"It’s looking that way (that he's out for the season).
"He’s got to see a consultant on Thursday and we’ll know more on Friday."
Ibrahim's place is likely to be taken by Dean Gardikiotis, a former Blackpool youth player who featured for Cray Wanderers last season. He and twin brother Alex, a midfielder, have been training with Dartford and Burman signed both before the transfer deadline on March 24.
Burman said: "It was awkward with the deadline. We did try to sign people on loan but a lot of them wanted to come on loan to be a No.1.
"I wanted cover (for Ibrahim) but clubs would only let me have them if they were going to be a No.1. I couldn’t guarantee that and the only other thing was 16-year-old lads. Well, I’ve got a couple of lads in the academy.
"Dean’s been training with us for the last three months, looking for a club, and he’s been very patient. I signed him before the deadline.
"We’ve got an academy keeper as well in Tony Coxall but he’s a young lad.
"We were warned at the time that if we hadn’t signed anyone, we wouldn’t be allowed to do any emergency signings after the deadline.
"We’ll help Dean and Tony out and I’ll decide what I’m going to do, whoever it is."
Dartford, seventh in National League South, are at home to Basingstoke on Saturday.
