Crawley will be without skipper Josh Simpson until the New Year.

Simpson is set to miss the hectic festive period due to a hamstring injury suffered in the warm-up at Bristol Rovers 11 days ago.

Boss John Gregory initially hoped to have the midfielder back within a couple of weeks but has revealed the injury is more serious than first thought.

Simpson will definitely miss the trip to leaders Leyton Orient on Saturday, the visit of MK Dons on Boxing Day and the home match against Notts County on December 29.

He is also unlikely to be fit for the trip to Swindon on New Year’s Day but could be back in time to boost Crawley’s hopes of reaching the FA Cup third round for the fourth year in a row.

Reds’ second round replay against Bristol Rovers had to be abandoned after 76 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch at the Checkatrade.com Stadium with the score goalless. The game has been rescheduled for Saturday January 4 – the day the third round tie at Birmingham City was due to be played.

Gregory said: “We’re not expecting Josh to be back this year. He’s got a small tear which is affecting him and anyone who has had a hamstring injury will know they don’t go away very quickly.

“We thought maybe he’d be out for ten days so it has dragged on a little bit but the most important thing is Josh’s health. I’ll just have to make sure when he comes back he is 100%.”