COLCHESTER United left-back Ryan Clampin was taken off due to 'physical and mental' fatigue against Carlisle United, according to boss Wayne Brown.

Clampin has returned from a long-term knee injury and has started the U's first two matches, in League Two.

The 23-year-old, who made his 50th appearance for Colchester at the weekend, was withdrawn with 17 minutes remaining in the 1-1 draw against the Cumbrians.

Clampin had been substituted in the 70th minute in the game at Northampton Town seven days earlier and head coach Brown says they need to be careful with the defender's fitness, given how long he has been out for.

Brown said: "Ryan has been out for over a year.

"We've trod carefully with him all through pre-season and tried to wrap up him up but ultimately, the kid is getting fatigued and he's going to get fatigued.

"We've put a good off-season programme into him.

"He came back in good shape and what we've tried to do pre-season is get some more fitness work into him.

"But ultimately, when you get physically tired, you become mentally tired and that was proving the case (against Carlisle).

"We felt that we had to make the change and wrap him up a little bit."

Gazette:

Meanwhile it is feared midfielder Emyr Huws (pictured above) could be out for up to four months with his ankle injury.

The former Ipswich Town man suffered the injury in the U's pre-season friendly against Millwall.

Skipper Tommy Smith is likely to be out for "six to eight weeks", after suffering a foot injury in the same game.

Writing in his programme notes for the Carlisle game, physio Hashim Ali said: "The time that both of them will be out of action isn't 100 per cent clear, with Tommy expected to be the quickest to recover.

"We hope that Tommy will be back in about six to eight weeks, whilst it looks like it might be three or four months for Emyr.

"Both will be working hard on their rehabilitation programmes, both in the treatment room and the gym at Florence Park, as well as some swimming sessions that are always beneficial for any recovery process."

Colchester are back in action tomorrow night when they visit Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup first round.