SIENA, April 17 (Serie A) - Strugglers Siena have suffered a blow ahead of Wednesday's relegation battle against Torino with the news that Massimo Maccarone has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.The Italian striker, who joined the Bianconeri from Middlesbrough in the winter transfer window, sustained a thigh injury last week.Further tests done earlier on Tuesday confirmed the 27-year-old will be out of action for six weeks.To add to his woes, coach Mario Beretta will be without midfielder Abdoulay Konko and defender Daniele Gastaldello, with the former out injured and the latter suspended.Beretta's concern is understandable given Siena's troubles in front of goal this term.The Bianconeri have one of the worst strike forces in the competition, with just 26 goals scored in 31 games.The absence of Maccarone hindered Siena in last weekend's narrow defeat against Fiorentina.A goal from Adrian Mutu was sufficient for the Viola to claim a triumph in the Tuscan derby.``We were superior to Fiorentina,'' said Beretta. ``We had four goalscoring chances in the opening half and they only had one and scored.''The defeat was all the more painful for the Bianconeri as they dropped to 15th in the standings.They go into the midweek encounter just five points clear of the drop zone.But with one victory collected in their last 11 games, the pressure is on Beretta with his team too close for comfort to take their top-flight status for granted.``We are not being rewarded for our efforts at the moment,'' said the Bianconero coach. ``But we are playing well and this is important for the future.''Opponents Torino are one place above Siena in the table and are equally aware of the repercussions another defeat would have on their position in the standings.Toro appeared to have weathered the storm after victories against Catania and Messina.However, they are back in trouble after a goalless draw at Palermo and defeats at Sampdoria and Atalanta.The Turin outfit failed to take advantage of their numerical superiority for the entire second half against 10-man Atalanta to slip to a 2-1 reverse on Sunday.A combination of bad luck and poor finishing consigned Torino to their 15th loss of the campaign, much to coach Gianni De Biasi's disappointment.``We missed clear goalscoring chances and when one makes mistakes you end up paying,'' he said.De Biasi is hoping his players will maintain their determination for the crucial closing stages of the season.``The fact that my players tried until the final whistle to score says a lot,'' he said.``We are still fighting to avoid the drop and we have to be aware that if we play our cards right we have the opportunity to remain in the top flight, otherwise we will only have ourselves to blame.''The visitors will be without midfielder Fabio Gallo, who serves a one-match ban on Wednesday, but welcome back striker Roberto Muzzi from suspension.