COLCHESTER United manager Geraint Williams has admitted the club's crippling injury crisis is placing huge pressure on his threadbare squad.

Injuries to Kevin Lisbie and on-loan defender Matt Heath have compounded the U's injury woes, with around a dozen players confined to the treatment table.

Although long-term absentees Pat Baldwin and Jamie Guy returned to Colchester's substitutes' bench for the defeat at Norwich City, they are still lacking match practice.

Defender Baldwin has not started a first-team game since early January because of a troublesome knee injury, while Guy has been out for two months.

Colchester's injury woes deepened when leading goalscorer Lisbie limped off with a calf injury, in the 5-1 defeat at Carrow Road last weekend.

And Williams conceded that after a demanding run of games in the Coca-Cola Championship, his squad is feeling the effects of a long, hard season.

He said: "With the amount of bodies that we haven't got available, the ones that are out there are doing above and beyond.

"The problem then is that they get little tweaks and muscle injuries.

"It's not only tired bodies - it's tired minds as well.

"When you've had the run that we've had and the number of games, players are both physically and mentally tired.

"That probably contributed to the two late goals (against Norwich)."

The deadline for emergency loan moves is later this week and Williams said he is still keen to bring in reinforcements, ahead of the clash with promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion.