Peterborough United teenager could miss the rest of the season after picking up an injury playing for Peterborough Sports

Overton lasted just 30 minutes of a dour 0-0 National League North draw at Southport on Saturday before limping out of the action with a hamstring injury. The 19 year-old, who made his senior Posh debut in a League Cup tie at Plymouth at the start of last season, had an operation on a similar injury earlier this season.

"It’s a real shame for Gabe,” Sports joint-manager Michael Gash said. “He’s gutted and so are we because we expect he will miss the rest of the season. He had an operation on his hamstring earlier this season, but he will go back to Posh and see what’s what.

"We will miss him as he’s a great lad and he’d been playing well. He was really getting up to the speed of men’s football.”

Overton’s injury wasn’t the only issue for Sports as key midfielder Dan Lawlor suffered a red card which is expected to keep him out of next Saturday’s FA Trophy quarter-final tie at National League high fliers Gateshead (March 9).

Sports report

He will however be available for a Tuesday night league game against Hereford United at PIMS Park (March 5, 7.45pm kick off).

"We are checking the competition rules re Dan, but we expect he won’t be at Gateshead,” Gash added. “It was all a bit silly really. He made a foul and when one of their players then got in his face he shoved him out of the way and the player threw himself to the floor. He wasn’t cautioned at all and then five minutes he later he received a yellow card so he should probably have been sent off really.

“It’s a blow for us, but we have another game to prepare before then and it’s one we want to win to take our current momentum into the Trophy game. We had won our three previous league games before Southport and we have now kept three clean sheets in a row.

"It was very scrappy at Southport. We did show bits of quality. but not enough to score a goal so a draw is not the worst result against a team who have caused problems for the better sides this season.

“The back three were outstanding against a very, big physical side and we protected the goalkeeper pretty well. They had a couple of chances towards the end, but we got bodies on the line and collected the draw.

"The energy levels and the fitness levels the players showed for 95 minutes was very impressive.

"If we had won we’d have been two places higher now because that’s how tight the lead is, but we get another chance to climb against Hereford.”

There’s a chance full-back Cuba Meyer or forward Sidney Pereira will return to the Sports squad on Tuesday because of Overton’s absence.

Sports are 15th, 11 points clear of the relegation zone and nine points outside the play-off places.