Peterborough United centre back suffers setback as injury hell continues

The Posh centre-back, and last season’s club captain, limped off a match in pre-season 2025/26 and has not been seen on the pitch since. His last competitive match came in April 2025.

Hopes were high that he would be able to return for the opening game of the season against Bristol Rovers but they were then dashed with Williams stating that he was feeling pain when ramping up the intensity of his training.

This has turned into something more serious with Hughes now confirmed to have suffered a setback and his return date is uncertain but not expected to be in the near future.

On Thursday, Williams said: “I'm really upset for Sam. He’s an incredible guy. He’s had a brilliant season and he’s worked so hard. He really adds a lot of value to the group as there’s not too many guys like him in our squad. He makes a huge impact.

“He was training really well. He was starting to show the qualities we have been craving but he has had a setback. It’s not as severe as he has has before but it is going to mean that his progress is slowed done.

“That’s really hard to take and we have to think of him. Honestly, he has worked so hard to get back on the pitch. We knew there were going to be issues along the way but we needed to get second and third opinions because the severity of how long he has been out.

“We have to put the brakes on now and that’s really sad. We have to leave a timeline for his return open-ended.

"The one thing I can tell you is that the boy is doing absolutely everything.”