Posh boss reveals extent of Kent injury, why Dembele dashed down the tunnel after being substituted and why Ricky-Jade Jones was absent

Frankie Kent of Peterborough United in action with Chris Porter of Crewe Alexandra. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com

But Posh are hopeful Kent will be fit enough to play in Tuesday’s home match against Ipswich Town (February 9).

Posh forward Siriki Dembele also left the action towards the end with a sore knee, but that was precautionary. It was noticed Dembele dashed down the players’ tunnel after he was taken off.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson said: “Frankie felt a tightness in his hamstring after clearing a header and we have told any players who feel they might suffer a muscle injury to come off straight away. We can’t take chances this season with so many games coming up so quickly.

Sirikie Dembele in action for Posh against Crewe. Photo: David Lowndes.

“We are hoping there is no tear and our first assessment after the game suggests that is the case. We will send Frankie for a scan on Monday and hopefully he won’t have to miss a match.

“We will have to manage players carefully for the rest of the season, Niall Mason came on for Frankie and was excellent.

“Siriki wasn’t involved at Tranmere because he picked up a knock in training on Monday. He went straight to the dressing room after he went off today to look after that knee and a sore back. It’s not enough to make him miss a game. We’re just being careful.”

Ferguson also revealed teenage striker Ricky-Jade Jones wasn’t absent from the matchday squad today because of injury.

“There two reasons why Ricky was not included. One, Mark Beevers felt fatigued at Tranmere so I needed Frazer Blake-Tracy on the bench to cover him and secondly because I felt Ricky just needed to be taken out of the squad to freshen him up mentally.

“It was nothing to do with his performance at Tranmere. If I was leaving people out based on that game I’d have left several out.

“Ricky is still a baby. He’s been included in every squad since he came back from his injury and I felt a couple of extra training sessions would do him more good. Flynn Clarke was with him for those sessions.

“Young lads have to be taken out from time to time. They need training sessions and it’s difficult to have them when we are playing so regularly.”