Kurtis Guthrie has suffered a setback in his bid to return to full fitness following his long-term ankle injury.

The Colchester United striker made a welcome return to action at the end of last month after seven months out when he came on as a late substitute in his side's 1-0 win at Yeovil Town.

Guthrie also played for the opening 45 minutes of Colchester's 1-0 Checkatrade Trophy defeat against Gillingham last week and was an unused substitute in their 2-0 victory over Mansfield Town, last weekend.

However, he did not feature in Colchester's Central League Cup game against Southend United, on Tuesday.

And U's head coach John McGreal has revealed the striker has suffered a blow in his bid to return to full fitness.

McGreal said: “He wasn’t involved because he had a little bit of a setback.

“It’s about assessing that as we go along."

McGreal, speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Colchester's home clash with Carlisle United this weekend, also revealed that Kane Vincent-Young and Doug Loft are both doubts for the game with hamstring injuries.

But midfielder Tom Lapslie returned to training today after missing the U's last two games with a groin problem.