BOSS Gareth Ainsworth has revealed Paul Hayes is likely to miss more games this season than last term.


His talismanic captain finally succumbed to a niggling Achilles injury which he played through last season and sat out Saturday’s defeat against Plymouth.


As of yesterday, he hadn’t trained this week either and Ainsworth said: “He’s got an Achilles issue which we’re going to have to manage. It’s nothing major but he will probably miss more games this season than he did last season. It’s something the physios are on, it’s not a major thing and not long term. It is about managing it right. It’s a physio’s nightmare.


“It’s early days. Achilles injuries are gradual. Some days you can wake up feeling great and some days it needs rest. We will have to suck it and see and we’ll have have a better answer in five weeks when we know his patterns.”


It is not clear whether Hayes’ rehabilitation programme will see him have a sustained spell on the sidelines or whether the club will adopt a play-one, miss-one policy, but Blues are determined to get it right.


Ainsworth said: “A fit Paul Hayes is a big asset to us and we’ve got to make sure we get him fit.
“If he’d been on the pitch last week I think we’d have got at least a draw. There were a few times when the ball popped into areas where you just need an experienced head to know where it is going to drop and Hayesey has got that and a habit of nicking these goals. His organisation, leadership and ability to unlock defences with his class is a key.


“He’s a big miss. He’s huge for us but he will be back soon.
“He will be playing some games but we’ll have to manage him. It may be that he doesn’t train at the start of the weeks. There’s every chance he could train on Friday but We'll have to manage him; we wouldn’t want to win one game and lose him for five because he’s such an important part of the team.”