Fears Peterborough United defender could be out for the season with 'serious injury'

The 20-year-old was absent from Saturday’s 1-0 League One win at Port Vale and was replaced by Jacob Mendy who returned from injury after limping out of the defeat at Bolton on October 4. Mendy’s return only lasted 40 minutes, however, as he limped off again to be replaced by Carl Johnston.

Rumours of Mills picking up a serious hamstring injury surfaced before the match and Williams refused to disclose the nature of the injury when quizzed after his side’s third League One win in a row.

Williams said: “Harley pulled out of training and we’ve been able to get a scan and the problem will keep him away for a while. We think it is quite a serious injury. We’re devastated about that. He is such an important player for us. He’s young and he’s going to recover well. He will do everything the right way because he loves football. He is going to be away for a little while now.

“I’m upset for him. Harley is a great guy and I know how much he loves and commits to the team. It means the world to him and to see a young guy injured in any way at all is horrible. It is going to be a bit of a long-term one.”

When pressed again on whether or not the injury is expected to be season-ending, Williams added: “We are hoping that we are going to see him again before the end of the season. If there are not setbacks, Harley is a quick-healer and will do everything right.”

Williams said that he did not believe Mendy’s injury to be too serious, but right-back Carl Johnston appears to be in line to start at left-back against Leyton Orient at London Road on Boxing Day.

“It was difficult for Jacob, because he had been away for such a long time and had to come into a game that needed so much defending in the opening 20 minutes with so much direct play. There was so much work to do early on, it knocked the stuffing out of him.

“He did fine, no problem, but then he felt something. I don’t think it is going to be as serious as it could have been, but it was too much for him to carry on.

"There’s definitely something there, but it’s difficult to say until we have a look at it.

“I played him for the balance of the defence, but when Carl Johnston came on, he was fantastic and was arguably the best player on the pitch.”

There were further injury concerns when Tom Lees was forced off the pitch with 20 minutes to play. He was replaced by Tom O’Connor, who sat out the last three matches with a calf injury.

But Williams said: “Tom felt unwell. It takes a lot to stop him, he must have been seriously unwell. We know Tom Lees and he’d head a filing cabinet if I threw it up in the air. At the point he went down, he felt dizzy and he said it wasn’t right to carry on.”

Despite all the defensive issues Posh kept a fifth clean sheet of the season as they moved up three places to 16th in the League One table.