GEORGE Rooney faces a selection puzzle for Bromsgrove Rovers' season starter with half of his preferred players out of action.

Rovers begin their Dr Martens Western campaign against Taunton Town at the Victoria Ground this Saturday (3pm).

But the boss will be without suspended Dave Benton and injured goalkeeper Paul Wyatt, Ross Collins, James Dyson and Ian Stephenson.

Benton begins a 21-day ban carried over from a spell at Stourbridge while Stephenson and Collins are out for at least two months apiece with a broken ankle and fractured foot respectively.

Doubt also surrounds the inclusion of Sam Bowen, likely to face anything from a 21 to 35-day suspension from the Worcestershire Football Association following his red card in the pre-season warm-up at Causeway.

Rooney said: "It's disappointing for me with injuries. I would prefer to have my best players on the pitch and at the moment I have not quite achieved that.

"It's not ideal but it happens to a lot of people. That's football."

The casualty list doesn't stop there though as youngster James Hill is still recovering from a groin injury. However, Richard Tompkins is likely to be fit for Saturday.

Despite this, Rooney is confident, adding: "I am delighted with the effort pre-season but there's a lot of room for improvement."

A Rovers team picture can be found on the squad page.