CONNOR Hall will be sidelined for around a month with a hernia injury.
But the Colchester United captain's injury is not as bad as first feared, meaning he will be back sooner than expected for the U's.
Hall missed the U's 1-1 draw with Sutton United last weekend due to what was first thought to be a groin injury.
But after seeing a specialist this week, the former Port Vale defender was due to have surgery yesterday, with his expected time of recovery between three to four weeks.
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Colchester head coach Matty Etherington said: “Out of a really bad and unfortunate situation for Connor, we got the best news possible.
“Connor saw a specialist on Monday for an ultrasound and was having his hernia operation today (Thursday).
“He’ll be back out on the grass and returning to playing in three to four weeks, which is a real positive as it could have been a lot longer."
Hall will be missing for Colchester's trip to play League Two leaders Stockport County tomorrow.
The U's could also be without fellow centre-back Tom Dallison, who has not trained this week because of a back issue.
However, Colchester are hoping he will be available along with Fiacre Kelleher, who is back from injury.
The U's are set to have goalkeeper Owen Goodman available after he was on standby for England under-20s.
But they will be without their leading scorer Joe Taylor, who is currently away with Wales under-21s for their Euro qualifiers.
It could mean an opportunity for young striker Bradley Ihionvien, who impressed as a substitute against Sutton last week.
Etherington added: “Brad’s been looking a real threat when he’s come on the pitch for such a young age.
“If you look at all of the stats around Brad when he’s on the football pitch, albeit later on in games, he’s really affecting the opposition so he could be an option.
“We’ll have to see, especially with the way we set up against Stockport who are a really good side."
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