DAVID Johnson will miss Bury's home clash with Bristol Rovers on Saturday after failing in an appeal against his recent sending off.

The Shakers were not happy with the way referee Steven Bennett dismissed the quicksilver striker seconds after he scored the winner at Peterborough 12 days ago.

Mr Bennett dismissed him for two bookable offences but failed to show two yellow cards.

The Shakers asked the referee to reconsider his decision which he duly did only to rule that he felt he got it right first time.

Johnson's absence could pave the way for a first start of the season for fans favourite Phil Stant.

Target man Ronnie Jepson is also ruled out with a hamstring injury leaving just three fit strikers for manager Stan Ternent to pick from.

The Shakers have played with three up front all season and unless Ternent decides to change his formation, Stant will line up alongside Mark Carter and Rob Matthews.

Bury have been hard hit by injuries again with Gordon Armstrong, Shaun Reid and Andy Woodward all also ruled out on Saturday.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.