Scunthorpe United boss Brian Laws is hopeful that Christian Ribeiro will be fit to return for Friday's trip to Southend United.
However, Laws has admitted that he could be forced into the loan market if the former Bristol City defender is ruled out of action.
"I suspect he'll be alright for Friday. We'll keep our fingers crossed and hope he is, but if he isn't then we will have to think about where we go from there," Laws told the club's official website.
"Do we slot Eddie [Nolan] back in at right-back and try and bring in someone else? I think we might have to look at bringing somebody else in on loan to see us through it with Michael Collins also out injured, but we'd be looking for a certain type of player for that."
Ribeiro arrived on a free transfer in the summer.
