Sam Hughes ruled out for the season
SAM Hughes has a serious knee injury and faces a nine-month layoff, Burton Albion and his parent club Leicester City have confirmed.
The young centre-half has damaged the cruciate ligaments and the meniscus in his knee after falling awkwardly in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat against Doncaster Rovers.
The Brewers feared the worst and it has now been confirmed.
It is the latest in a string of injury blows to disrupt Jake Buxton’s first season as manager and, to make the news even worse, Buxton has confirmed that Albion were hoping to sign Hughes permanently from Leicester in the January window.
Although the Brewers remain in deep trouble at the bottom of League One, their defence has been markedly better with him in it and he had weighed in with two goals from setpieces at the other end of the pitch.
Hughes signed on loan in October, initially until January, and had made 15 appearances for Burton.
“It’s as bad as we feared, a longterm injury and he won’t be with us for the rest of the season,” said Buxton.
“He had a scan on Monday and we got the confirmation late that night.
“He’s done his cruciate and also injured his meniscus, so it’s a bad one, a nine-month injury and it will probably be close to September before he’s out on the grass.
“He jumped for a ball, stretching, and, as he came down, he landed awkwardly and the knee collapsed.
“It’s very strange for it to happen with no-one around you.”
Strange as it may be, Burton have had more than their fair share of cruciate ligament injuries in the last few seasons, losing Liam Boyce, Ben Fox and Callum Hawkins for long spells with similar injuries.
Buxton scouted Hughes early this season and saw him as a key man in the Brewers’ relegation battle.
“He was one of the first ones I got to go and watch when I was looking for loans and we gave him a great platform to play first-team football,” said Buxton.
“He was putting in consistent performances.
“We had been in dialogue with Leicester about taking him on a permanent deal and the chairman was in support of that.
“Sadly, it can’t happen in this window but it is still something we could look to do in the future because he’s a good player.
“He’s a dying breed, an old-school centre-half who wants to get stuck in and head it and kick it.”
While Hughes’ injury initially gives John-Joe O’Toole the chance to re-establish himself in the first team, Buxton will now look for another defender in the January window.
“We’ll miss Sam in the coming games and we’ll be back in for a centre-half in the window, for sure,” he said.
“John-Joe O’Toole will have another opportunity but we are short in that area and we will be in the market for another centre-half.
“We saw the difference Sam made to the team and it will be important to bring a fresh face in, in that position.
“We should mention the character of the lad. He’s a good kid who was fully on board with what we were trying to achieve.”
YOUNG Burton Albion defender Ben Hart has joined Redditch United on a 28-day loan deal.
Redditch play in the Southern League Premier Division Central but their league fixtures are on hold at least until after Christmas.
Hart played for them in a 3-3 friendly against Evesham United on Saturday and again in a 2-1 defeat at home to Alvechurch on Monday night.
Both games were in a mini cup competition organised between a handful of clubs.