Injury blow for Cambridge United midfielder Luke Hannant

Luke Hannant is expected to face an extended spell on the sidelines at Cambridge United.

The dynamic midfielder suffered an ankle injury in training that has ruled him out of the past three games.

He has subsequently had a scan on the injury and although it provided some good news, it is unlikely to mean an imminent return to the fold.

“The results of the scan have been fairly positive in the fact that he does not require surgery or anything on his ankle,” said interim head coach Mark Bonner.

“That was a bad one; day one of me taking the team him carried off the training ground - it was a great start!

“Obviously, he is a really important player for the squad, he is a real bundle of energy around the place as well.

“But we don’t expect to see him for a fairly significant period of time, probably four to six weeks, all being well. He is in a boot at the moment and going through some rehab on his ankle.”

There is good news ahead of the visit of Bradford this Saturday (February 15).

Liam O'Neil was forced off early in the second half in the defeat to Scunthorpe United on Tuesday night, but it was a precautionary measure.

“We’re quite hopeful for Liam for the weekend," said Bonner.

“He had a slight issue and one of the things we want is complete commitment from all of the players when they play, but we don’t want people trying to be heroes.

“If players can’t fulfil the role we need them to in a game, they need to put their hand up, so he was sensible and professional in that on Tuesday night.

“It allowed us to stay really strong and the timing that he comes off the pitch probably means there is less damage than there might have been had he stayed on.

“We will see over the next couple of days how he fares, but we’re hopeful for Liam."

Harry Darling was only fit enough to earn a spot on the bench on Tuesday, with George Taft taking his place at centre-back, but the young defender is returning to full fitness and could be challenging to get back in the starting line-up.

It means that the U's are likely to have the same squad on duty, with just Jabo Ibehre, Jack Roles and Sam Smith joining Hannant on the injured list.