Jack Marriott could become scout for Peterborough United during long injury lay-off

Marriott is expected to be out for between four and five months with a hamstring injury he suffered when closing down Reading goalkeeper Luke Southwood in the second half of the 3-1 defeat earlier this month (September 14).

He went in for surgery on Saturday (September 25) and given his track record with injuries over the last couple of years, Posh will be reluctant to rush him back into action when he returns, likely in around February or March next year.

In the meantime, Ferguson has spoken about the importance of looking after Marriott’s mental well-being and has suggested that he could bring him into his scouting team.

Ferguson said: “We are looking at between four and five months, it’s a long time. He’s going to have to have surgery, which he is going to do on Saturday. It’s probably as bad an injury as you can get to a hamstring.

“We have to manage the boy now, he’s disappointed, it’s a big blow for him and a huge blow for us.

“Jack has obviously not played much football in the period before he arrived either but we’ll look after him and make sure we try and keep him right. I’ll have to try and keep him busy, I think he’ll start becoming one of my scouts now. I have to keep him busy mentally, there’s no doubt about that.

“It’s a big blow to be out for so long in such a strange incident. I’ve seen injuries like that before and normally the players are in agony. The one thing is sometimes when it’s a tendon injury there isn’t that pain but anyway it’s a real blow for Jack and we all feel for him.

“I think starting with the chairman and going all the way through the club, we are very good with looking after people’s mental wellbeing. I’ve spoken to Jack a couple of times and we’ll give him and his family all the support we can.

“It’s part of football but unfortunately, the last couple of seasons have been tough for Jack. It’s a blow for all of us because he was just getting up to speed but it can happen, you have to stay strong. We have to now look at what we can do to get him back. It might be a case of waiting until pre-season and making sure he’s really strong next season but we’ll wait and see when he returns from injury. He’s only 26 so he’s got plenty of time.”