Burton loanee Sam Hughes has been ruled out with a "long-term" knee injury.
The 23-year-old defender was on loan with the League One strugglers from Leicester City but has now returned to his parent club for treatment.
He scored twice in 14 league games for the Brewers, who had hoped to keep him until at least the end of the season.
"We gave him a great platform to play and he was putting in great performances," boss Jake Buxton told the club website.
"We had been in dialogue with Leicester about possibly taking him on a permanent deal and the chairman was fully in support of making that happen.