Barnsley FC captain Cauley Woodrow set for extended absence after knee surgery

Woodrow has been sidelined since the Reds' 2-1 reverse to Preston on December 11 and went under the knife on Wednesday.

While not putting a specific timescale on the length of absence for the 27-year-old, Asbaghi stated that the situation will be reviewed on a 'month to month' basis rather than each week - raising fears that the forward could be out for a fair spell.

Asbaghi said: "Cauley is injured and unfortunately, he will not be back soon.

"Yesterday (Wednesday), he went through a surgery and we will see and we will, of course, give him good time to make sure his rehabilitation is in a good way. Let's see what the future brings.

"But we can definitely rule him out for the short term. We have to take it month to month and not week for week, that's all we can say."

Meanwhile, Asbaghi confirmed that he is more 'optimistic' regarding the situation with influential defender Michal Helik, who came off in the Reds' final game of 2021 at Blackburn Rovers with a thigh/quad issue.

The Polish international missed last weekend's FA Cup game with Barrow.

Asbaghi, whose team's scheduled weekend Championship home match with Blackpool has been postponed with the Reds not having enough first-team players to fulfil the fixture due to Covid and injury problems, added: "With Misha (Helik), in his case, we are not worried he will be out for too long.

"Of course, he must be fit to play, but let's see what the up-coming weeks can give. We are, of course, more optimistic in terms of his comeback."