Maidstone United defender Joe Ellul won't rush return from calf injury

A calf injury could keep defender Joe Ellul out of Maidstone’s opening game of the season.

Ellul, voted supporters’ player-of-the-year in United’s National South title triumph, has been struggling for the past couple of weeks.

He’d love to be out there when United kick off their National League campaign at Altrincham on Saturday but won’t take any chances if it means risking further damage.

“It’s nothing too major but enough to stop me training and playing games,” said Ellul, 34.

“At the same time, I’m not going to rush it.

“Injuries like this, calves and hamstrings, they’re weird injuries, so I’m not going to push it and end up being out for six weeks when I could potentially end up only missing one game.

“It’s frustrating because I was flying through pre-season, looking strong and fit, and I was looking forward to the start of the season.

“I want to mix it with the big boys and hopefully cause some upsets.”

Jack Cawley, a summer signing from Bromley, has been playing alongside George Fowler in Ellul’s absence.

Cawley has plenty of National League experience and would have strong claims to start, whether Ellul was injured or not.

Ellul welcomes the competition for a starting spot, and also feels Raphe Brown shouldn’t be discounted as he returns to fitness.

“You need a competitive squad to push each other to be better every game,” said Ellul.

“It’s something we want amongst ourselves, there’s no issue with another centre-half coming in.

“Ideally you want three or four good centre-halves and Raphe’s a centre-half by trade, he’s back soon, so it’s competitive.

“You’ve got to earn the right to wear the shirt and that’s why Hak (manager Hakan Hayrettin) and Terry (Harris, assistant boss) are here, to make decisions on who