Colchester United head coach John McGreal admits Frankie Kent's knee problem is a "little bit of a concern" after the centre-back was forced to withdraw from their starting line-up at Morecambe at the last minute.

Kent was named in the U's side at the Globe Arena but felt discomfort prior to the game and was replaced in the line-up by Tom Eastman before kick-off, in the 0-0 draw last night.

Kent initially picked up the knee problem in the U's 1-1 draw at Mansfield Town ten days ago and boss McGreal says it is a bit of a worry.

McGreal said: "Frankie got through training throughout the week but in the last five or ten minutes against Yeovil, he's hurt his knee in a tackle.

"He said he felt fine and trained on it (on Tuesday) no bother at all but as he's come out (at Morecambe), he's just felt it a little bit unstable.

"It was wise for him not to play and luckily, we had big Tom Eastman on the bench and also young Paul Rooney, which was a great experience for him.

"It's a little bit of a concern and I think (head physio) Tony (Flynn) is going to get that looked at."

Meanwhile, McGreal said his decision to leave striker Kurtis Guthrie out of his 18 for the Morecambe game was based on football reasons.

Guthrie showed his frustration when he was substituted midway through the second half of the U's 1-0 loss to Yeovil Town, last weekend and was not involved at all, at the Globe Arena.

McGreal added: "It was my decision and I just thought I'd go with this team to try and win a game of football."