KENDAL will be without their skipper Gareth Gore for at least eight weeks.
Welshman Gore goes into hospital on Friday for a minor knee operation.
The lock-forward is a key lineout jumper for the Black and Ambers, but there was good news for the Kendal selectors from the RFU disciplinary committee when they met on Wednesday evening.
The committee decided to hand Gore's second-row colleague Liam Hayton the minimum one-match ban after his red card against Luctonians.
As Hayton has already served two weeks - although both of the fixtures fell foul of the icy weather - he is available to play against Nuneaton tomorrow (Saturday) and has been chosen in the starting line-up.
Steffan Thomas, the ex-Preston Grasshoppers player and Cambridge blue, who joined the club recently , is selected for the first time, while Ian Voortman, returns to the captaincy role once more.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here