WORCESTER City manager Carl Heeley is hopeful new signings Mike Symons and Emeka Nwadike will be fit for the Blue Square Bet North season kick-off.

With five days until the opener at Hyde, there are doubts over the pair who picked up injuries in Saturday’s 1-1 warm-up draw with Tamworth at St George’s Lane.

Striker Symons suffered a foot problem early in the first-half, while defensive midfielder Nwadike tweaked his hamstring 15 minutes into the second period.

There is also a question mark over fellow new recruit Jacob Rowe as the former Birmingham City centre-half awaits international clearance after a spell in the USA on a football scholarship.

Heeley said: “Losing Mike was a big blow to us because he has been superb through pre-season and, fingers crossed, he is going to be OK.

“Emeka’s hamstring tightened up so we dragged him off before it became a problem and we hope he will be OK.

“We are long overdue for a little bit of luck on injuries so hopefully it goes our way with those two.

“They have done extremely well so let’s hope we get a bit of fortune.

“We’ve had a good, solid pre-season and are pleased with it but we do need that little bit of fortune now with Mike and Emeka getting over their little knocks and hopefully Jacob’s clearance coming through in time as well.”

Worcester have added striker Michael Taylor, who scored against Tamworth, and right-back Jared Wilson to their squad.

Taylor last played for Midland Combination Premier Division outfit Earlswood, while Wilson has been on the books at Birmingham and was loaned to Chesterfield.

Midfield duo Kyonn Evans and Josh Emery have been registered by the St George’s Lane side and a decision on striker Marc McGregor is expected this week.

Heeley said: “Michael is a wildcard.

“He’s not played anywhere near this level and is very raw but has good strength and pace and we feel we can work to improve him.

“He could be quite a good impact player for us.

“Jared has a good pedigree and he’s played at as high a standard as anybody else in the squad.”

On Saturday’s draw, Heeley added: “It was our toughest test. Tamworth are a full-time side in the division above us and they moved the ball well, particularly in the first-half.

“It was pleasing because we went behind again but we came back and have not been beaten.

“We are happy being unbeaten through pre-season but now we’ve got to try and transfer that into the league when it all starts for real.”