Ismail blow for Brewers

Burton have been dealt an injury blow with the news that winger Zeli Ismail is set to miss the remainder of the season.

And with Gary Alexander and Michael Symes also on the sidelines, Albion boss Gary Rowett could this week sign a forward in time for the crunch clash with fellow promotion hopefuls Scunthorpe on Saturday. Ismail, on loan from Wolves, suffered a hamstring injury against AFC Wimbledon at the weekend. Scans have revealed a tear in the muscle and the 20-year-old is looking at between six and eight weeks out. However, Rowett is hopeful he could be back for the play-offs should Burton miss out on automatic promotion. "It looks like he's going to be out for the last part of the season. He's expected to be out for six to eight weeks," said Rowett. "I've commiserated with Zeli and I hope he'll be able to get back if the play-offs are needed. We won't rule it out completely." Alexander has had an injection in his knee and the 34-year-old is expected to be out for another week after missing the last three games. Symes, 30, now has a groin problem after recently recovering from a knee injury. He has not made an appearance since November. Rowett added: "Gary had his knee swell up a bit. Coming into the team and playing a lot of games in quick succession, and training really hard, affected the knee with him not having played very much. Gary reacted to that. "But he's had an injection and in a week to 10 days he'll be back playing his part. "Symesy is slightly different. He's had a recurrence of his groin in the warm-up at Portsmouth. It's been a bit of a nightmare for him since November. He's been stop-start with one or two injury problems. But there's still a chance he can play some part before the end of the season."