NO sooner had he got one body back, than Ryan Aldridge lost another at the weekend.

In came captain Kieran Brown to help Leeds Knights to a convincing 6-2 win at home to Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday; out went import forward Arturs Mickevics about halfway through that game with a lower-body injury that also saw him miss Sunday’s 3-2 derby defeat at Hull Seahawks.

A quick look among the crowd at Hull Ice Arena told you the main story of Leeds’ season so far. Defencemen Jordan Griffin and Lewis Baldwin (injured), forwards Mac Howlett (illness) and Mickevics were all stood watching on from the sidelines.

Throw in young D-man Liam Hine (injury) and fellow 17-year-old Edgars Vengis (suspended) - the latter a mainstay among Aldridge’s forward pack this season - and it is little wonder the Knights eventually succumbed to the enormous pressure they were put under by a Seahawks line-up with the bit between their teeth.

Obviously, Leeds did have injuries during the first three seasons under head coach Aldridge, but rarely anything major to a key member of the roster.

This season, it seems like everything has come at once. It has happened to NIHL National other teams previously, it will hamper more teams in the future.

But, for Aldridge, there are rarely excuses, simply pointing to his team’s failings on Sunday as a reason why they came off second-best.

“We started really well, got up 2-0, then we made a couple of silly plays which gave them momentum and we struggled to get it back after that,” he said.

UNDER PRESSURE_ Leeds Knights' goalie Sam Gospel freezes the puck against Hull Seahawks under pressure from former team-mate, Ethan Hehir.

placeholder image — UNDER PRESSURE_ Leeds Knights' goalie Sam Gospel freezes the puck against Hull Seahawks under pressure from former team-mate, Ethan Hehir.

“We played good in fits and spurts but were a bit disappointing in the end. We looked tired at times, a little bit disinterested - after the fight, I thought they got momentum. We’ve got stuff to work on and build on.”

Second-placed Leeds face one of their toughest weekends in the schedule when they head to leaders Swindon Wildcats - who they trail by five points - on Saturday followed by a visit from an inconsistent Milton Keynes Lightning 24 hours later.

Aldridge will have Vengis back from his three-game suspension, while Hine should be back in contention to start, offering a welcome extra body at the back-end.

Griffin and Baldwin are unlikely to feature before the New Year, Howlett is expected to be out for a few more weeks, while Mickevics’ situation is yet to be fully assessed.