Plymouth Argyle's Defensive Setback: Alex Hartridge Injured

Plymouth Argyle have been dealt a defensive blow with Alex Hartridge facing up to a month on the sidelines after damaging ankle ligaments.

The 27-year-old, a free-transfer arrival in the summer, picked up the injury late on in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Doncaster Rovers after coming off the bench. What looked like routine minutes to help see out a result have instead left Tom Cleverley with another gap to plug.

Hartridge’s absence cuts deeper than a normal squad player being ruled out. The former Exeter City and Wycombe Wanderers defender had featured in every Argyle game this season and marked his debut in style, scoring in the Carabao Cup against Exeter. He had quickly become part of the core.

Now he joins a growing list in the treatment room.

• Michael Baidoo is already out until November with a hamstring problem
• Malachi Boateng is unavailable
• Jack MacKenzie is also unavailable

For a side trying to build rhythm under a new head coach, four absentees is an unwelcome theme.

"It's another unfortunate one," Cleverley told BBC South West, the frustration clear. He pointed to the nature of the setbacks rather than any deeper structural issue.

"We've got four boys out at the minute, Macca is one we've carried from last year and two from innocuous challenges with Alex and Malachi," he said. "They're not load management, they're not staffing problems, they're just part and parcel of a contact sport."

Baidoo’s case is the exception in Cleverley’s eyes, the one the staff will pore over.

"Michael Baidoo's the one that we can review and analyse how we can manage better, or the player can manage better," he added, stressing that the broader injury picture remains under control. "But the injury numbers have been very pleasing and three out of the four we have got out have been either carried over from last season or contact knocks."

For now, Argyle must navigate the coming weeks without a defender who had quickly become a constant. How they cope without Hartridge in a congested period will say plenty about the depth and resilience of Cleverley’s new-look squad.