Barnsley have suffered another blow in their quest for Championship football next season, as another key player is ruled out for the rest of the campaign.

They've already lost leading scorer Kieffer Moore until the summer, but he's now joined by Australian Kenny Dougall, who has confirmed his own absence on his Instagram page.

The 25-year-old joined the Tykes from Sparta Rotterdam in the summer and has started 19 League One matches for them as they've climbed to second in the table.

He broke his leg in the 0-0 draw with Doncaster, but tried to play on with the fracture. He was eventually withdrawn on 18 minutes and will play no further part in the season.

He said on the post: “Injuries are part of the game and unfortunately I’ve been hit with another tough pill to swallow. Full trust in the lads to get us up into the champ! Don’t know why I’ve tried to play on with a broken leg but nobody can say I didn’t try.”

The draw saw Barnsley's lead over Sunderland cut to just two points, with the Black Cats picking up a win against Walsall the following day.

Barnsley have been rocked by injuries recently, as well as key players such as Brad Potts departing in the January window.

The Verdict

For now, they're still in second place, but for how long?

The injuries are piling up and losing Dougall will be a blow. He's been in and out of the side, but has looked comfortable recently.

It's a real test of Daniel Stendel's whole squad now, they've got to pull together if they're going to hold off the challenge of the Black Cats.