HAT-TRICK hero Stuart Fleetwood could miss Hereford United's match with Hartlepool United at Edgar Street tomorrow.

The 20-year-old strike sensation put Coventry City to the sword in Tuesday's Carling Cup first round clash, scoring all the goals in United's 3-1 home victory.

But Fleetwood left the pitch after 73 minutes with a hamstring injury and is now a doubt for the visit of the Monkey Hangers. Boss Graham Turner said: "Stuart Fleetwood has a slight hamstring injury and it's in the balance."

Fleetwood is Turner's only injury worry ahead of the game after skipper Tamika Mkandawire came through the Coventry encounter in good shape.

The manager, meanwhile, has warned his players not to get carried away with their cup heroics.

The Bulls ensured the miserable 3-0 defeat at Barnet was a distant memory as they saw off Mick Adams' Championship outfit.

But Turner knows his team need to prepare themselves properly for Hartlepool, themselves on a high after winning 1-0 at Burnley in the same competition.

Turner said: "The important thing was the performance, it was something like we expect from our players.

"We had a terrific second-half and some of the play was very encouraging for the rest of the season.

"We knew how difficult it would be but there were one or two things we thought we could exploit.

"You always have to be a bit wary after a result like that. The players have to get themselves back down to earth but, equally, Hartlepool had a good result in the Carling Cup as well."

Although Turner was delighted to claim Coventry's scalp, he openly admits he would have swapped it for a result at Underhill last Saturday.

He added: "I have to say I would have preferred three points against Barnet than beating Coventry but we are in the Carling Cup and we will enjoy it.

"If we can repeat that performance then we can beat most teams in League Two but it's a case of being consistent.

"We have had them (Hartlepool) watched, they are a decent outfit and it won't be easy. But Hartlepool don't overly concern me, it's our own performance that concerns me."

The manager also believes the defeat at Barnet was a one-off following good displays at the start of the season.

Turner said: "We went up to Stockport and battled and we had an outstanding second-half against Lincoln and almost came back from two goals down.

"I am tending to think it was only Barnet that's been a massive hiccup for us. Seven or eight players were well below-par.

"We talked about it, we had them in on Sunday and we made amends for that poor performance against Barnet on Tuesday."

Non-contract midfielder Simon Osborn, the former Wolves and QPR player, has decided to leave Bulls and search for a club in the south.

Hartlepool boss Danny Wilson insisted: "If we can perform like we did at Burnley then we will give ourselves a chance."