'It’s a blow for us and also for him': Michael O'Connor provides injury update on Glenavon talisman
Glenavon manager Michael O’Connor has confirmed talisman Peter Campbell is set to miss “three or four weeks” with a hamstring injury suffered in last weekend’s defeat to Bangor – admitting “it’s a blow for us and also for him”.
Campbell missed almost the entirety of the opening two months of this season through a similar injury – however, the problem sustained on Saturday isn’t the same hamstring which previously kept him out of action.
The 28-year-old scored his first Premiership goal of the campaign in Glenavon’s recent 3-1 victory over Ballymena United and had started five league matches in a row prior to limping off at Mourneview Park.
His absence is a hammer blow for O’Connor, who is trying to mastermind the Lurgan Blues’ survival mission after losing three strikers in recent weeks and will now be without another attacking threat in Campbell.
It means Campbell will miss Saturday’s trip to Cliftonville and is a doubt for Glenavon’s Boxing Day showdown against rivals Portadown at Shamrock Park – O’Connor’s men also face reigning champions Linfield between those two fixtures.
“Peter has another hamstring problem, but it is not the same one as last time,” O’Connor told the club’s website. “We arranged a scan at the beginning of the week.
"The results were not as bad as they might have been, but it is still a little worse than a grade one, so he is likely to be unavailable for three or four weeks.
"It is a blow for us and also for him. He had played so well against Ballymena.
"He was understandably a bit down on Thursday night. He is desperate to play and to help the club as much as he can. I spoke to him and tried to encourage him.
"Scott Hughes, our physio, will work closely with him. Whilst we won’t take any chances, hopefully we can get him back sooner rather than later.”
Stephen Mallon trained this week and could return against former club Cliftonville, but goalkeeper Jacob Carney has suffered a setback in his recovery from hand surgery – Glenavon reported the ex-Manchester United youngster “hopes to resume his playing career early in the New Year”.