SHEFFIELD STEELERS’ head coach Aaron Fox said defenceman Brien Diffley would continue to be evaluated over the coming days to see if he is fit to play this weekend’s home double-header.

The Steelers welcome Guildford Flames on Saturday and avoid the hassle of travel this weekend when they play host to Cardiff Devils less than 24 hours later.

They will hope to make further in-roads into the three-point lead currently enjoyed by Elite League leaders Belfast Giants.

The Steelers reduced it by one point over the weekend just gone when taking both points in a 4-3 win at home to Glasgow Clan on Sunday to add to the point gained by a shoot-out defeat Nottingham Panthers, on the same night as Belfast dropped two points in a surprise 3-2 home defeat to Dundee Stars.

With eight games remaining for the Steelers, who have played one more than Belfast there are likely to be more twists and turns in the next month.

And Fox will be hoping Diffley will be back in time after leaving the ice during the second period in the win over Glasgow and not returning.

It’s a further injury concern added to the one that came on Saturday night in Nottingham which saw centre Mark Simpson miss the Clan encounter.

While not ideal, Fox said he was pleased to see others on the roster stepping up to fill the holes left by key players.

EARLY FINISH: Sheffield Steelers' defenceman Brien Diffley was forced off the ice in the second period against Glasgow Clan on Sunday. Picture: Hayley Roberts/Steelers Media.

“We’ll evaluate Diff, I think it was a mid-section type of injury, hopefully it doesn’t keep him out too long,” said Fox.

“We lost Simmer (on Saturday) too, Differ midway through this game, (Kevin) Tansey’s been out for a month and Max (Golod) is not available for us either.

“So we’re a little thin right now and that’s just the way it is at this time of year - guys needed to step up and play together and we’ve done that.

“So it’s all hands on deck right now, with some guys playing extended minutes.”

REWARDED: Daniel Ciampini scored his first goal since December 7 in the 4-3 win over Glasgow on Sunday. Picture: Dean Woolley/Steelers Media.

Fox said he was delighted to see Daniel Ciampini get rewarded for his recent performances by scoring the winning goal against Glasgow - his sixth of the season but his first since December 7.

“It was good to see Champ (Ciampini) get that fourth goal,” added Fox.”It’s been a long time coming for him - he’s been playing well but just not getting rewarded so it was good to see him find the back of the net.”

Sheffield Steelers: Aaron Fox on injured duo plus Daniel Ciampini getting his reward