Town have confirmed that U18s central defender Omar Sowunmi is out of hospital having been knocked out late on in the first half of the Blues' 3-2 FA Youth Cup defeat at Derby this evening.
"Town defender Omar Sowunmi has returned from hospital after being knocked unconscious. Pleased to report Omar is okay now," confirmed the Blues.
Coach Russell Osman added: "Omar was knocked out and it looked a bad one at the time. I have to thank the Derby staff for their co-operation in helping to get the lad to the hospital.
"Omar is an important player for us with his height and stature and we wanted him in there to help defend set pieces, as well as attack them in the final third.
"But these things happen in football and I’m happy to say he is okay at the moment and back from the hospital.”
Sowumni, who is from Colchester, started as a full-time scholar in the summer.
Osman felt his side might have won had they taken their opportunities: "I thought we gave it a fair go tonight and the lads started the game very well," he told the club site.
"We got ourselves in front with a good goal and created a few more chances after that. If we had converted a few of those chances then it may have been a different story.
"We knew it was going to be a tough challenge, as Derby have some very good players, but on the whole I thought we gave it a good shot.
"It’s something our lads can learn from and overall I thought it was a good, entertaining game.”