Crawley Town stars could be out for 'eight weeks' while others 'are struggling' after illness hits squad

Ashley Nadesan and Joel Lynch had both left the pitch injured after only 17 minutes for Crawley in their 2-0 loss to Hartlepool United last Friday.

On how long the pair are expected to be unavailable for, Etherington told the Observer: “Ashley (Nadesan) has a grade two so he’s looking at eight weeks which is a big blow and not the best news. And (Joel) Lynch although we won’t know until he has a scan later today (Thursday), I don’t want to speculate but it looks pretty similar.”

Nadesan is Crawley’s top scorer this season whilst Lynch has offered a vast level of experience at the heart of the Reds defence. Since previously returning from injury, Lynch helped Crawley keep three clean sheets in five games, whilst the Reds only kept one without the former Brighton defender available.

In the past week, much of the Crawley squad has also fallen victim to an illness, whilst midfielder James Tilley is also struggling with an ankle injury.

“Over the weekend we had to keep them away from each other but we’re going to have to wait and see for Saturday,” said Etherington, who’ll face Tranmere Rovers this weekend in his third match in charge of Crawley. “We didn’t do loads in training today but there were some players really struggling to catch their breath with everything that’s gone through their system.”

When asked if the recent injury news effects Etherington’s January transfer window plans, he said, “That’s a conversation to be had with Chris [Galley, director of Football] and the owners but there’s definitely room to bring players in January and potentially trim the size of the squad down as well.”

Tom Nichols, the club’s number 9, was left out of the last two matchday squads after their technical director, Chris Galley declared they’d received a “serious offer” from another club for the player. On whether Nichols would be involved this weekend, Etherington said: “As far as I’m aware at the minute, Tom Nichols is speaking to a club in League Two and that’s all I know.

“So, at the minute, he probably won't be in this weekend’s squad.”

Crawley are set to face Tranmere away this weekend, but their opposition will be checking their pitch on Friday morning, whilst several matches across Britain are being postponed due to weather conditions.