Craig Slater will not know the extent of his hip injury for another fortnight.

Colchester United’s talented midfielder has sat out the last couple of matches, due to a hip injury, and he might yet face an extended stay on the sidelines.

Slater enjoyed a fine first two-thirds of his first season with the U’s last term, before he was dogged by hernia and groin problems which eventually required an operation.

The 23-year-old Scotsman has struggled for fitness ever since, and was straining to rediscover his old form when his current injury came to light.

Manager John McGreal revealed: “Craig (Slater) has got to rest up for a couple of weeks.

“Then we’ve got to let it (hip) settle down.

“He’s possibly got a little bit of a tear in there, so we are waiting to see if it will settle down.

- Carl Marston’s talking points from the 5-1 win over Forest Green Rovers

“So it’s one of them really - it is a bit of a juggling act – will it settle down? We will have to wait and see after a couple of weeks. If it doesn’t, then he will be going in,” said McGreal, suggesting that surgery might be the ultimate outcome.

McGreal added: “It’s one step at a time.”

At least Slater was not really missed during the U’s superb 5-1 home win over Forest Green Rovers yesterday. It was their first victory of the new season.