Star Peterborough United defender ruled out for 'foreseeable future' with calf injury
Peterborough United defender Tom Lees is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The centre-back was originally named in the starting line-up to face Bradford City at Valley Parade on Saturday, but pulled out of the warm-up very early and had to be replaced by George Nevett.
Lees has appeared in 24 league matches since signing for Posh, missing only a handful of matches due to illness and suspension at the age of 35 and coming off the back of a serious knee injury picked up playing for Huddersfield last season, but will now face a significant lay-off with a calf injury.
Posh boss Luke Williams confirmed that news, stating: “For us to try and get even a point today, we needed Tom Lees more than we needed any other individual player. “He tried to lift off on the hop in the first action of the warm-up and he felt a pop in his calf muscle. He unfortunately, won’t be able to play for the foreseeable future
\2George is a good player, but Tom Lees is on a different level at the moment. He has the experience and quality. He is a calm influence on the players around him and he’s defensively incredible, particularly with his instincts. That was a huge blow for us.”
Peter Kioso was absent from the bench after being unable to travel due to illness and there were also concerns about both Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Harry Leonard who were substituted after picking up knocks during the match. Williams was able to confirm that neither of these have picked up anything serious.
Williams added: “Jimmy-Jay is fine, but he was on a booking in what was a very physical game. He’s been so good and played a lot of tough games. He gets a lot of treatment from the opposition and I felt we needed an extra defender more than an attacker and that was it.
“Harry has been brilliant and has played so many minutes and he looked like he had emptied the tank. We are a little bit short, but we have a fantastic academy and we always have another good player ready to take the opportunity.”
While not giving a direct answer, Williams did not refute the suggestion that Matt Garbett, Ben Woods, Sam Hughes and Harley Mills were weeks away from returning to fitness rather than days.