Cambridge United defender James Gibbons ruled out for ‘10 to 12 weeks’ with knee injury suffered against Peterborough United

While he is unlikely to play again for Cambridge United until the new year, James Gibbons’ injury is not as bad as first feared.

The defender was forced off with a knee problem during the opening 45 minutes of Saturday’s 6-1 derby thrashing at Peterborough United.

Head coach Garry Monk admitted after the final whistle that the situation ‘did not look good’ for Gibbons and he added today that the initial thinking was that the 26-year-old could miss the remainder of the season.

However, a scan has shown no evidence of rupture, meaning Gibbons should be able to return after ‘10 to 12 weeks’.

“If we’re honest we expected a rupture. It looked like a long-term, season-ending type of situation,” said Monk.

“The good news is that it isn’t a rupture around knee, but the prognosis is he’ll still be (out for) 10 to 12 weeks so it’s not great, but it’s better than we thought it was going to be.

“Hopefully Gibbo can recover well and be back to play what will hopefully be a good part of the season.”

While Gibbons has joined a long injury list at the club, Monk is hopeful that striker Shayne Lavery will be able to return to the squad for this weekend’s visit of Barnsley.

The summer signing has not featured since suffering a hamstring complaint in mid-September.

Monk added: “Shayne has been out training and he’s got another session tomorrow. Hopefully he can play a part in the squad and be up for selection.

“He’s gone well this week so after that session we’ll make a decision.”

Playmaker Josh Stokes has suffered a ‘little bit of aggravation’ in his comeback from a knee injury but he could potentially still return to full training next week, while no other fresh fitness problems were picked up at London Road.

Goalkeeper Vicente Reyes (Chile) and winger Sullay Kaikai (Sierra Leone) will also be absent for the Barnsley clash due to their respective international commitments.