Colchester United goalkeeper Ben Williams is facing a spell on the sidelines after he suffered a back injury in his side's 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic last night.

The former Manchester United trainee suffered the problem in the pre-match warm-up at the Valley.

And after it got worse during the first half of the U's game against the Addicks, he was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Mark Cousins.

U's boss John Ward admitted Williams could be facing a spell on the sidelines.

Ward said: “Ben has got a bad back.

“He felt it slightly in the warm-up.

“It got a bit worse in the first half so at half-time we made a decision to keep him out of it.

“Mark Cousins came on and did a good job.

“I didn’t allow Carl Pentney to stay at Bath City until the end of the season and that looks like a good decision now.

“Ben is likely to be out for a little while now."

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