Summer recruit Harry Pell picked up a slight hamstring injury, during Colchester United’s pre-season opener at Maldon & Tiptree on Saturday, but it is not a serious problem.

Midfielder Pell, signed from Cheltenham Town at the beginning of the summer, was taken off as a precaution on 79 minutes following his second-half outing in a 4-1 triumph at Park Drive.

The League Two U’s will face a step up in class tomorrow evening, in their second pre-season friendly at newly-promoted Braintree Town (kick-off 7.45pm), before embarking on a training camp in Wales.

Whether Pell is risked tomorrow evening is another matter. Fellow new signing, Luke Norris, did not feature at Maldon due to a minor shoulder injury, and a sore ankle kept another front-runner, Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe, on the sidelines.

U’s boss John McGreal said: “There was a slight worry about Harry’s (Pell’s) hamstring. He said he was fine, and was quite willing to carry on, but there was no point him carrying on.”

Saturday was a useful run-out, with most of the first-team squad enjoying 45 minutes of action. It is likely to be a similar case at Cressing Road tomorrow.

Another of the U’s new signings, Aaron Collins, particularly caught the eye. The Wolves loanee set up the first two goals and netted the third from the penalty spot.

Meanwhile, Braintree also kicked off their pre-season by scoring four goals, in a comfortable 4-0 win at Newmarket Town.

Iron manager Brad Quinton enthused: “It’s good for the players to get their first game under their belts. We knew it would be hot but I felt the players coped well.

“There’s a long way to go before the real kick-off and we have some tougher friendlies coming up starting with Colchester.

“We’ve several new players on board plus a number of trialists.”

Midfielder Luke Allen (penalty), new signing Lyle Delle-Verde, Reece Grant and Albanian-born Irnti Rapai scored the goals.

Admission tomorrow night is £10 for adults and £5 for OAPS and under-18s.