The next month should help show everyone exactly what Deal can do this season, manager Steve King has warned.

Town’s unfortunate start continued as their FA Cup Preliminary Round match at division rivals Lydd was abandoned on Saturday after keeper Henry Newcombe took a serious blow to the ribs.

Since then, the Hoops have finally received some welcome good news on two fronts, with Newcombe’s injury not as bad as first feared after he was rushed into an ambulance and taken to hospital.

The FA has also ruled the abandoned fixture will be replayed on Bank Holiday Monday. The original tie was abandoned after 85 minutes with seven minutes of stoppage time still due to be played. Lydd were 2-0 up.

It was another tough afternoon for Deal as captain Kane Smith came off with an ankle injury after a heavy challenge.

But King vowed: “We need to win some games of football.

“Lydd would have looked at our performance the other day at Snodland and, for 35 minutes, we were absolutely outstanding. That probably showed them - and the others who came to watch - that we’re still quite decent.

“We need some bodies back but we have played three league games out of 40. There’s no panic from us. We’re still not a million miles off.

“I’m confident, over the next month, we will show people what we can do.

“Every other side is going to go through it this season - maybe not to the extent we have - but I would much rather these injuries now, than next April.”

King highlighted the absence of young defender Alex Green and winger Tom Chapman.

He added: “If we start getting these people back, the whole picture completely changes.”

The FA’s decision for their cup clash to be replayed was announced on Monday but, even before then, King had been largely philosophical.

“I think I’m going to have a set of thoughts and James Rogers at Lydd will have a different set of thoughts,” he said.

“We were 2-0 down and the referee had indicated there would be seven or eight minutes added so we certainly hadn’t given up on getting back into it.

“But if I was Lydd, I would feel very hard done-by.

“We will do everything in our power to win that game.”

Keeper Newcombe is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks but has sustained no long-term damage and could be back fairly soon.

King said: “There was a lot of concern.

“He was struggling to breathe but he was given oxygen quite quickly. There was potential he might need surgery but, thankfully, there’s no long-term damage.

“He will not be off the sofa for a while but there’s no long-term damage and, as a club and group of players, we’re very pleased he’ll make a full recovery.”

It means former Deal No.1 James Tonkin, who now mainly plays for the reserves, and goalkeeping coach Kieron Hollier could be called into action.

The drama of the Lydd game came after they drew with Snodland in a topsy-turvy Southern Counties East Premier Division contest last Wednesday.

Deal raced into the lead through goal-scoring midfielder Billy Munday’s brace and, despite the hosts hitting back to go ahead, an 88th-minute Ben Chapman effort earned them a point.

“We were very pleased with the performance,” reflected King.

“We were frustrated to throw a two-goal lead away but they’re a decent side and we battled back.”

The victors of the tie between Deal and Lydd will visit Isthmian Premier Kingstonian in the First Qualifying Round.

This Monday’s replayed Preliminary Round tie at Lydd will be played to a finish.