COLCHESTER United midfielder Gene Kennedy has joined Welling United on loan.

The 20-year-old midfielder has linked up with the National League South side initially for a month and made hi debut for the Wings in their 2-2 draw with Tonbridge Angels, at the weekend.

Kennedy will play under former Braintree Town boss Rod Stringer at the J Hearnden Skip Hire Community Stadium along with former Colchester favourite Kevin Watson, who is assistant manager at Welling.

Kennedy, who has also spent time on loan at Braintree Town, played the full 90 minutes for Welling, who came from 2-0 down to claim a point to boost their chances of staying in National League South.

He has made 12 senior first-team appearances for Colchester, including six League Two matches.

The U's academy product has played three senior games for the U's this season, all of which have come in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

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Kennedy, who has been at Colchester since under-ten level, made his senior bow for the club under Hayden Mullins in their 1-0 Carabao Cup defeat at Birmingham City, in the 2021-22 season.

He is the latest of a number of the U's young players to go out on loan to non-league clubs, over recent weeks.

He follows the likes of Chay Cooper, Al-Amin Kazeem, Frankie Terry and Ronny Nelson in moving away from the JobServe Community Stadium on a temporary basis.