EXPLOSIVE striker Rodney Jack has been the man capturing the headlines at Crewe this season with a string of spectacular goals.

But after bagging his latest contender for goal of the season against Portsmouth at the weekend, he then limped away from the action with a knee injury.

Manager Dario Gradi expects him to be out for a month so, in the meantime, he is likely to turn to diminuitive front man Colin Little as his supplier of goals.

Little is already well known in East Lancashire having started his career at Dark Lane with non-League Rossendale United.

From there he moved up the semi-pro ladder to UniBond outfit Hyde United and that's when he was brought to the attention of Gradi who snapped him up in 1995. It's taken the tricky 27-year-old a couple of seasons to find his feet in the professional game.

But now he's a regular in the Alex side and, judging by our Opta stats, he could pose the biggest threat to Rovers tonight.

In his 1,431 minutes of action so far, Little may have only scored twice in the Nationwide League First Division.

But he has six in total for the season as a whole and he's a player who is never afraid to pull the trigger - wherever he is on the pitch.

Little has more to his game than goals, however, and he loves the ball at his feet so he can take on defenders.

This season he's made 50 dribbles and runs with a success rate of 74 per cent as well as 14 crosses, of which 36 per cent have been successful.

He also likes to get involved in the build up play, dropping off into the hole between defence and midfield, as proved by a staggering total of 506 passes made (completion rate 68 per cent).

So whether it's as a supplier or a finisher going forward, Little can prove a matchwinner on his day.

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