Crawley midfielder Josh Simpson’s injury nightmare is set to continue.

Simpson has made just six appearances this season due to a combination of ankle and hamstring problems.

The former Peterborough midfielder was sidelined for three weeks after limping out of the 1-0 victory at Barnsley on the opening day of the season.

Simpson returned for the 2-0 win over Yeovil on September 27 but suffered a hamstring issue which has plagued him for the rest of the campaign.

The 27-year-old did manage to play four matches in a row at the end of October but has not featured at all since the FA Cup defeat at Yeovil on November 8.

Simpson had hoped to be fit to boost Crawley’s battle against relegation in January but has suffered a further setback which is expected will sideline him for at least another month.

That will rule him out for the next six League One matches with the earliest he is likely to be ready to return being the visit of Barnsley on February 14.

The news adds to what has been a miserable season for Simpson which also saw him stripped of the captaincy and put on the transfer list along with four other players by former boss John Gregory.

It does mean that Simpson will almost certainly remain at Crawley until the summer when his contract runs out unless another club risks signing him while he is injured before the window closes at the end of the month.

Interim boss Dean Saunders said: “Josh saw a specialist the other day because he is still having problems with his hamstring.

“The specialist said he might be trying to do a bit much which is irritating the nerve at the top of the hamstring so he needs to let it settle down for two weeks.

“Josh needs to rest it completely to try to get rid of the inflammation and then he can start training again but it will take him another two weeks to be fit to play so we’re looking at at least a month.”

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