WANDERERS have confirmed that Kieran Lee is out of action with a minor groin injury and will miss the midweek Papa John’s Trophy game against Port Vale.

The experienced midfielder will have a scan on the injury on Monday but the problem is not expected to be a serious one.

Lee played 90 minutes in the Carabao Cup at Wigan Athletic last Tuesday but was absent from the squad in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Cambridge United.

“He has a bit of an injury,” Ian Evatt said when asked about the midfielder. “He picked up a bit of a groin strain yesterday (Friday).

“We don’t know how long it is going to be because we are waiting for a scan. But we don’t think it’s too bad.”

Evatt hopes to use the defeat at Cambridge as a lesson for his players, having enforced upon them the importance of the first goal at the Abbey Stadium.

Shilow Tracey opened the scoring just 16 minutes in, giving the home side a lead to defend, much to the manager’s chagrin.

“When teams camp up like that, you’re not going to create chance after chance, it’s not going to be like an Oxford or a Lincoln game where they’re coming at you and we can pick them off on transition,” he said. “This is sometimes what it is going to be like at these smaller clubs and they are going to camp in and make it really tough for you.

“That is where the first goal in these games is absolutely vital. Today we conceded it and cost ourselves.”

Evatt felt his players allowed themselves to become embroiled in a battle at Cambridge, which sent the gameplan by the wayside.

“We just need to be better at what we do and not get embroiled in things we can’t affect - officials, opposition crowd, opposition players,” he said.

“I thought at times we became a bit disjointed and that there was a lack of discipline.

“And because of those factors where we should have just focussed on us, concentrate on us being good, we lost our composure and way a little bit.”