HEREFORD have secured the short-term signing of striker Ahkeem Rose ahead of the new season.

Paul Caddis’ is expecting to be without striker Jason Cowley for six to eight weeks due to an injury he picked up during the pre-season friendly at Halesowen Town.

Rose, aged 25, scored three goals in 19 appearances in the Scottish Championship last season for Ayr United.

The striker played in League Two with Grimsby Town and his most successful spell came at Weymouth in the National League, scoring 16 goals in 53 appearances.

Caddis said that they will not rush Cowley back into action and have signed striker Rose on a short-term deal in his absence.

“Cowley will be honestly six to eight weeks, that’s the discussion that we’re having at the moment,” said Caddis.

“We’re obviously disappointed with. Last year was with me being eager as a manager and Cowley being ultra-eager as a player. We probably brought him back too soon, but not in a dangerous way, in terms of match fitness and sharpness.

“You can train all you want but games are different. We’ll manage him properly and if we can get him back into training in the next four or five weeks then we’ll give him a couple of weeks where we try and get him really sharp.

“He looked really good in pre-season. The good thing is that we’ve got good depth in the top end of the pitch and we’ll look at add a short-term one for the next six weeks to two months.”

Caddis added that Rose has got aspirations of moving back into full-time football after moving from Scotland.

“He’s a top striker,” said Caddis. “He’s a good player, he’s sharp and different to what we have. We really like him.”