Crewe are set to be without AJ Leitch-Smith for the next four weeks after the forward suffered ankle ligament damage on Saturday.
The 22-year-old picked up the injury in the weekend defeat to Portsmouth when he was caught by Brian Howard.
Railwaymen boss Steve Davis told the club's official website: "AJ has suffered ankle ligament damage but it is probably not as bad as we first feared.
"He was in a lot of pain on Saturday and there was a fear that there could have been a fracture there, but he has been able to put weight on it today (Tuesday) and has driven in for treatment. That is encouraging.
"Although it is not as bad as we feared at the time, it is still a bad injury and we expect him to be out for at least a month.
"He will be determined to get back as soon as he can and get back into the team and score goals. I think he has looked one of our most dangerous forwards, so we will miss him, but his absence will give someone else an opportunity."
