COLCHESTER United defender Paul Reid has spoken of his anguish at having to sit out the rest of this season, and perhaps much of this summer, due to a freak knee injury.

Carl Marston

Colchester soccer

By Carl Marston

COLCHESTER United defender Paul Reid has spoken of his anguish at having to sit out the rest of this season, and perhaps much of this summer, due to a freak knee injury.

Reid sustained the injury just over a week ago, during the 2-2 draw at Huddersfield Town. At first he hoped that the damage was not too serious, but the results of a scan last week confirmed an enforced spell on the sidelines.

At least the U's have continued to impress during Reid's absence - they have won their last two matches, at Oldham (1-0) and against Swindon (3-2), with Chris Coyne replacing Reid alongside Pat Baldwin in the heart of defence.

Ex-Carlisle and Barnsley defender Reid, though, is cursing his bad luck.

“It was a bit of shock to learn that I had broken the knee cap,” admitted Reid, who was a spectator at the U's home win over Swindon on Tuesday night.

“That's my season over, all of a sudden. I suppose it could have been a lot worse, but it's still frustrating not to be able to play a part during the run-in.

“It's really a middle-of-the-road injury. I was hoping that it would just turn out to be bad bruising, and that I would be ready to play again in a couple of weeks.

“But the scan revealed that I had a fractured knee cap. At least it isn't anything like cruciate ligament damage, because that would have been very long-term,” added Reid.

The U's have reduced the gap between themselves and the play-off zone to just five points, thanks to an unbeaten run of five matches that has yielded 11 points from a possible 15.

Paul Lambert's men have 10 games remaining, and they certainly believe that they are in with a good shout of gate-crashing the top six. They entertain relegation-troubled Crewe on Saturday.

Reid, though, has to concentrate on getting himself fit for next season. He will not be adding to his 26 league appearances of the campaign.

“I must have split the knee cap when I collided with the Huddersfield player. I didn't think anything of it at the time, until I went up for a header a couple of minutes later. Then it really went,” continued Reid.

“I will be wearing a brace for six weeks, and then hopefully it will have knitted back together again.

“My aim is to start jogging again in June, if everything goes to plan. It's just a big shame, because I felt that I was playing well,” concluded Reid.