Lee Holmes and Troy Archibald-Henville close to returning for training
Manager Paul Tisdale confirmed that Jordan Tillson is likely to be out for three to four months following the injury he picked up against Portsmouth on Saturday.Jordan fractured his ankle after a collision with Bobby Olejnik in the City penalty area and there were fears that the young midfielder could be facing a lengthy spell on the sideline. However, Tis confirmed that it is a straight forward fracture and, while the player will be out for at least 12 weeks, it could have been worse.
“He had an appointment on Wednesday with a consultant, in Exeter, Nick Talbot. He deals with all our players when it comes to those sort of injuries. And although this assessment is third-party, Jordan says he doesn’t believe it is going to be too complicated. I imagine it will be three to four months.
“It’s a straightforward fracture, as much as that can be a positive outcome. It's one thing his ankle being better though, he's then got to train again. So we're looking at Christmas time.
"It's a big loss for us as he's such an able player and very fit, and it's a big loss for Jordan. The squad's whittled down since he's been here and he's gravitated to the top of the pile, deservedly so.
"It's come at a rotten time for him, but if he's going to have a career in the game I'm sure these things will pop up."
Tis confirmed that Troy Archibald-Henville is not far away from being back in training. However, he added that the player would need three or four weeks to get back up to speed having only done three weeks of pre-season training.
Lee Holmes is also close to a return and could still make the Devon derby at home to Plymouth Argyle on September 17, while David Wheeler is facing a similar time out injured following a hamstring complaint.
However, the amount of time Craig Woodman (ankle) and Jordan Moore-Taylor (calf) will be missing is unclear and Tom McCready will be out for around four to five weeks with his injury.