ARGYLE will be forced into yet another defensive reshuffle when they take on Bristol City at Home Park tonight.

Richard Eckersley, the Pilgrims' loanee from Burnley, has been ruled out by the groin injury he suffered in the 1-1 draw at Coventry City.

Eckersley, 21, was making only his third appearance for Argyle, and his first at left-back, when he limped out of the action at the Ricoh Arena.

He is the latest addition to a long list of Argyle defenders who have been hit by injuries this season.

That has undoubtedly been one of the factors behind the Pilgrims' struggles in the Championship.

There are also doubts over the availability of centre-back Kari Arnason for the visit of Bristol City.

Head coach Paul Mariner admitted it was "touch and go" whether Arnason would shake off a calf injury in time.

The Iceland international finished the game against Coventry and has been having around-the-clock treatment ever since.

Winger Craig Noone will also be an absentee tonight, having pulled out of training yesterday with a sore knee.

That was a cruel blow for Noone, who had missed the 2-0 defeat at Queens Park Rangers last Tuesday and the draw against Coventry because of shin and ankle injuries.

But there is some better news for Mariner, and Argyle.

Centre-back Reda Johnson has returned to fitness after sitting out the last three matches with a groin strain.

And both Karl Duguid (calf) and Gary Sawyer (shin) have shaken off the injuries they picked up on Saturday.

Should Arnason be passed fit to play tonight, he and Johnson could be reunited as Argyle's centre-back pairing.

That would then allow Chris Barker to revert to the left-back role.

Mariner said: "You need a settled back four. It doesn't matter whether you are top, middle or bottom of the table, but we just can't get it.

"It's not an ideal scenario, but we will get on with it."

Bristol City are 14th in the Championship table, seven points outside the play-off positions.

They played the first of three successive away games when beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park last Tuesday.

But manager Gary Johnson admitted his side had been "second best" when they lost 2-0 to Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday.

He will demand a much-improved display from his players at Home Park tonight.

Johnson said: "It's up to me to lift them. If we can get a result there, we will have won two out of three difficult away games in the space of a week.

"People will see that as a good return and everybody will be feeling different.

"It's important we get a result down there, but we have to do a lot more than we did against Reading if we are to give ourselves a chance."

Striker Chris Iwelumo has returned to Wolves after completing a one-month loan spell at Bristol City.

But the Robins have been in talks about signing another Wolves forward to take over from Iwelumo.

Johnson is hoping to add 6ft 8in Austria international Stefan Maierhofer to his squad in time for the clash against Argyle.

Maierhofer, 27, signed for Wolves from Rapid Vienna for £1.8 million at the end of August.