Will a bad injury to Ricky-Jade Jones force Peterborough United into the transfer market for a new striker? Another midfielder could arrive before the TV game with Derby County

Posh striker Ricky-Jade Jones lies injured on the London Road pitch during the game against Plymouth. Photo: Joe Dent/theposh.com.

Jones missed a chunk of last season after an operation on his leg to combat growing pains and last night he left the picth after just 16 minutes of the 4-0 Carabao Cup defeat at the hands of League One side Plymouth Argyle at the Weston Homes Stadium with suspected knee ligament damage.

It could force Posh into the transfer market for a striker. Summer signing Jack Marriott is a doubt for Saturday’s Championship game at home to Derby County (August 14), while Siriki Dembele has already been ruled out of a game to be shown live on Sky Sports.

That leaves Jonson Clarke-Harris as the club’s only fit striker and he is short of match fitness after a summer spent recovering from calf and knee problems.

“I feel for Ricky,” Posh manager Darren Ferguson stated. “He twisted his knee and it could be ligament damage. It looks like a bad one, but we’ll know more today.

“It’s become a problem area for us. We will get Jack Marriott up to speed as soon as possible, but he remains a doubt for the Derby game and Siriki won’t play in that one,

“It’s something I may have to look at which I didn’t expect at this time of the season.”

Posh signed midfielder Oliver Norburn from Shrewsbury yesterday, but another midfielder is also expected to sign soon, possibly before the weekend.