COLCHESTER United youngster Ronny Nelson has joined Torquay United on a month's loan.

The former Leicester City centre-back will spend the next month with the Gulls and is set to make his debut for them when they take on Slough Town tomorrow.

Torquay boss Gary Johnson told the club's website: “As we always say, it’s ‘another club in our bag’ with so many games coming up.

“What we can’t afford now is any niggly injuries, without having the numbers. We’ve known of him, and we’ve been interested in him before.

"He’s 6’4” and at this moment, you’ve got to have a squad, and I’ve kept saying it. You need that squad competing.

 

“We’ve got to have a look at our luck over the season with injuries, things that have happened at the wrong times leaving us a bit short, and we’re determined for that not to happen.”

Nelson made his full debut for Colchester earlier this season when he featured in their home defeat to Spurs under-21s in their Bristol Street Motors Trophy group game, last September.

The 20-year-old joined the U's last summer from Leicester's Academy and has been a regular for the club's under-21 side in the Professional Development League, this season.

Nelson is the second Colchester youngster to head out on loan in the last 24 hours, following Al-Amin Kazeem's move to League of Ireland side Galway United yesterday.

He will link up with former Colchester midfielder Tom Lapslie, who has been at Torquay since joining them from the U's in the summer of 2021.