Blues forward Sone Aluko is facing surgery on the knee injury he suffered during Tuesday’s 6-0 defeat of Northampton in the Papa Johns Trophy, while it’s hoped Conor Chaplin will return to training today but new signing Panutche Camara won’t be involved at Accrington tomorrow.

"Aluko was subbed just before half-time against the Cobblers having fallen awkwardly and hobbled to the tunnel with the help of two members of the club's medical staff.

It hadn’t looked good and manager Kieran McKenna says those fears have been confirmed.

“It’s a fairly significant injury, so that’s very disappointing for Sone and certainly for us as a group as well,” he said.

“He saw a specialist last night, it will require surgery. The time period obviously depends on the recovery but it’s likely to be a few months.

“That’s a disappointment for Sone, we’ll certainly miss him on the pitch. Disappointing for the group to miss him on the pitch but we also know the character that he is that he’s still going to be a positive influence and a role model around the training ground.

“It was knee and some link into his hamstring as well, so he’s hopefully going to have a repair in the early part of next week and we obviously wish him all the best for a full recovery, which I’m sure he will do. He’s a very strong and fit man.”

McKenna says the injury didn’t have any impact on his deadline day business with the signings of Camara and Gassan Ahadme already planned.

“It didn’t have a bearing anything on deadline day, they were two deals that we had lined-up and were always keen to move with on the last day,” he said.

“But, it shows the reason you need a deep squad because at any given movement you can pick up an innocuous injury in a game, you don’t know when it’s going to happen.

“That’s why it’s important to have that cover and have that depth and have that balance in terms of ideally having two really strong players across each position who can compete and step into the team when required.”

Regarding Chaplin, who was withdrawn from the 18 on Tuesday after reporting a minor groin problem, McKenna is hopeful the former Barnsley man will be involved today.

“Hopefully not too bad, he hasn’t trained with the group yet,” he said. “He just felt a little bit in his groin as he was taking a shot in the warm-up but we’re going to try and get him training with the group this morning and see how he is from there.”

Regarding the new signings, McKenna says Camara won’t make the trip to Accrington having been suffering with a groin injury which has kept him out of Plymouth’s early season games.

“Panutche we need to be a little bit careful with, he’s going to join in with the training group today but he hasn’t trained very much over the last few weeks with the issue that he’s had,” he added.

“We’re going to have to be a little bit more patient with him, make sure that we get him right and get him up to speed and make sure that medically he’s absolutely fine. So we won’t see him this weekend.

“Gassan is fit and available, obviously hasn’t trained with the group yet but is going to be available for selection for the squad for Saturday.”

Photo: Matchday Images

Ruddock2021 added 10:28 - Sep 2 Gonna be a big miss, he's been great in these cups games as a impact sub in league matches, strength in a our squad depth is finally coming good however
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Dab added 10:31 - Sep 2 Gutted for Sone... All the best for a good recovery.
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ghostofescobar added 10:33 - Sep 2 I was told yesterday that Aluko's injury was season ending, but hoped it was just tittle tattle gossip. Unfortunately seems to be largely true, although let's hope he is not out for the entire season. Will be a real miss to the team. He adds that bit of pace and directness in the middle when he is on. Real shame. Good luck, Sone, let's hope your recovery is sooner than predicted.

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chepstowblue added 10:49 - Sep 2 A hugely significant blow. Whilst he doesn't always feature in the pathetic stats, his quality is on another level. Speed of thought and instant control make him possibly the most naturally gifted player at the club. We're very lucky to have him. Wishing Sone a very speedy recovery. Will be hugely missed.
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Bazza8564 added 10:52 - Sep 2 Sad for Sonne because its his contract extension year and he might not get another one, i pray we see him again hes a top fella. Better news of Chappers but I dont think he will be risked tomorrow unless that twinge was a freak and has completely gone, pointless with the cover we have. Suspect Harness will start ahead of JJ in the left ten, will be interesting to see who plays right if Chappers is missing. Edwards, Jackson, JJ? We have really good depth but to potentially lose our two right sided tens is a pain...

6

IpswichT62OldBoy added 10:53 - Sep 2 Very sad for him, hopefully he will be able to play the tail end of the season and be fully fit for our Championship return.
4

Rimsy added 10:53 - Sep 2 Good luck to Sone, looked innocuous at the time. But our squad is looking stronger than it ever has. Even going back to when we should have won the league under Bobby, awesome first 11 but little quality to back it up when the inevitable injuries came.
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ringwoodblue added 10:58 - Sep 2 Very sad for Sone and I wish him a speedy recovery. Thanks to McKenna, Ashton and the recruitment team, we are less exposed to injuries now and I'd say that we have good enough replacements for every position except GK as Hladky is not in the same class as Walton.
4

Europablue added 11:20 - Sep 2 ringwoodblue Well-said. Walton is at least Championship quality, so there is no way you could get a player of that caliber to warm the bench.
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Bluechip75 added 11:20 - Sep 2 Sone has been a revelation since he signed for the club,a classy player who will be missed. All the best for your forthcoming op and a speedy recovery.
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Ryorry added 12:06 - Sep 2 Awful news, feel for him, hope he recovers sooner than expected. I don't think he's as replaceable as some are making out - his skills & style bring something different.
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ArnieM added 12:14 - Sep 2 B ugger! Not the type of serious injury you want at this time in his career. Get fit soon Sone 👍
2

blues1 added 12:32 - Sep 2 Ringwoodblue. Hladky is a good keeper, and perfectly good cover for walton. Everyone still judging him on his time in the team at the start of last season when Cook was changing the defence every single game. Which is no good to a keeper. Ask any keeper and they'll tell u, they need a settled defence in front of them. Something walton has had pretty much all his time here. Of course he's the better of the 2 keepers, but one thing Hladkys better at is his distribution, as was shown on Tuesday night. Really don't think we have a major issue if walton was to miss a few games

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Orraman added 13:36 - Sep 2 Blues1 - you mention Hladky's better distribution but doubt if he could better the punt from Walton inch perfect to Janoi on halfway line who moved it quickly on, culminating in Morsy's goal against Barnsley. So sorry to hear that Sone is out for a while. Although he seldom played the full 90, his minutes on the pitch were always a joy to watch as he turned defenders inside out. It's a bad age to collect an injury like this and provided he regains full fitness I would like to think that he might get a new deal at end of season

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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 13:57 - Sep 2 A real blow for the team and for Sone personally, who has been fantastic so far. Hopefully, we have enough cover to manage the loss, but I'm not sure anyone can really replace him. We will have to deal with it; probably, other teams will also lose key players during the season, although I'm not wishing injury on anyone. Best wishes for a quick recovery, Sone.
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Linkboy13 added 15:35 - Sep 2 Such a shame really good entertainment when he comes on off the bench. But this is going to be the problem in the event of a cup run injuries are bound to accure. Although we have a good squad now there's certain players that we cannot afford to lose.
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ScottCandage added 16:39 - Sep 2 Well this is a kick in the teeth. Explains the Pan signing. He will have a role to play for us - it might not be playing but he will encourage the rest of the team.
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ITFC_Singapore added 21:08 - Sep 2 Really sad about this. Really good player and always brings it every time he is on the pitch. A bit unlucky not to be in the starting XI, but Chaplin has been fantastic so far. Seems like a top fella as well. I hope we see him in the 2nd half of the season.
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