Richard Brindley has warned his old friend Matt Ball that Colchester United are determined not to fall victim to an FA Cup upset this weekend.

Brindley has been ruled out of the U’s first-round clash with non-league side Wealdstone with bone bruising around the knee.

But the 22-year-old has already had plenty of discussion about the tie with his former Norwich City team-mate Ball, who could line up for the Stones on Saturday.

And full-back Brindley insists Colchester will travel to Grosvenor Vale intent on avoiding a giantkilling, against their National League South opponents.

Brindley said: “I’ve spoken to Matt about the game and he’s a good friend of mine.

“But like me, he’s keeping his cards very close to his chest and refusing to give any information away!

“It’s a shame I couldn’t play against him - he’s a good player and he’s capable of scoring and creating goals.

“Having been on both sides of the fence, I know it won’t be an easy game for us at Wealdstone.

“Upsets do happen but we’re fully aware of that and we’ll be going there intent on getting the job done.”

Brindley helped inflict Colchester’s most recent FA Cup defeat against non-league opponents, three seasons ago.

He was part of the Chelmsford City side that shocked the U’s in the first-round tie in 2012 at Melbourne Park, winning 3-1.

“I’ve got very good memories of the FA Cup,” said former Rotherham United right-back Brindley.

“I played for Chelmsford against Colchester in the competition a few years ago.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good day for Colchester but it was a memorable day and it helped me get regular first-team football at a higher level.

“It’s a shame I can’t play in this round but hopefully, we can progress and I can play a part later on in the competition.”

Brindley is hoping to return to training within the next fortnight, having not played since Colchester’s 4-0 defeat at Fleetwood Town in August.

He added: “It’s been very frustrating - I tried to go through the pain but it just kept getting worse and I had to drop out.

“It came to the time when I spoke to the manager and the physio and we went to see a specialist and get it scanned.

“The annoying thing is that the only thing you can do is rest it to get it right, so that’s what we agreed to do.”

“It’s much better now and I’m hoping to be back in training and kicking a football with the lads again in a couple of weeks.”

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