Arsenal loanee Louie Copley has suffered an injury setback and is set to miss the next two-to-four weeks of action with Crawley Town, according to their manager.
Louie Copley made a positive start to his loan spell with Crawley Town, but an ankle injury is proving problematic for the Arsenal 19-year-old at the moment.
Copley suffered the setback after just two games with Crawley, missing the next three matches through the injury. The teenager then returned to the bench against Cambridge United last week on Tuesday, before playing 45 minutes against Tranmere last Saturday.
Yet it seems Copley wasn’t quite ready to return, and he now faces a further spell on the sidelines with the same problem.
“He’s probably going to be another two weeks minimum, four weeks maximum,” Crawley Town boss Scott Lindsey said this week. “I know it’s vague but he’s not our player, so we’ve got to be mindful of that.
“We have to be governed by what Arsenal see and say as well. Ricky [McFarlane], my strength and conditioning coach – he’s in touch with them and we’ve built a really good relationship with that side of it as well.
“He’s rolled his ankle and it’s not right yet. It’s the same ankle as the first time, so it’s going to be two to four weeks.”
As mentioned, Copley had made a strong start in his appearances before this injury setback. Lindsey praised the Arsenal midfielder as “the best player on the pitch by a mile” on his debut.
“Louie Copley was outstanding today,” the manager said then. “I thought he looked brave on the ball, he’s got those long legs to make tackles and I thought he was outstanding. I’m really pleased with him.”
It’s just a shame the youngster hasn’t had many more opportunities to show what he can do since then.
If he’s out for just the next two weeks, he’ll only miss two further games, but a four-week absence could mean five further matches on the sidelines – in addition to the two he’s missed this week.