Ben Gordon has been made available for loan by Colchester United - less than five months after signing for the club.

The former Chelsea trainee has been told he can leave the U's on a temporary basis, ahead of today's emergency loan window closing.

Gordon was a regular starter under former U's boss Joe Dunne, after joining Colchester from Ross County in the summer.

But the 23-year-old left-back has found his first-team appearances limited over recent weeks.

And the arrival of Cole Kpekawa on loan from Queens Park Rangers has restricted his opportunities further.

U's boss Tony Humes said: “We’ve made Ben available for loan.

“We’ve spoken over the last few days and it’s best for the player.

“Ben’s recognised that he might not be part of our plans and we’ve agreed to make him available for loan.

“Ben’s a good player and he’s got a lot more to give than he’s possibly shown and there’s a lot of areas where he needs to work on his game.

“He’s got a lot of strong points which we’ve spoken about but we’ve just gone down the line of bringing someone in who we think will suit the team better."

For all of the latest Colchester United news, see the Daily Gazette.