Stephen McDonnell 'gutted' as Glenavon star set to miss 'probably 10 to 12 months' after suffering ACL injury in training

The 19-year-old has been an ever-present under McDonnell this season, registering 27 Premiership appearances, which included scoring in November’s 2-0 home victory over Loughgall.

It’s a bitter blow for McDonnell’s side as they chase a European play-off spot with key matches against Glentoran, Dungannon Swifts, Larne and Loughgall coming up before the split.

"Isaac has unfortunately done his ACL in training on Tuesday night...you’re looking at probably 10 to 12 months,” McDonnell told the club’s media channel. “It’s unfortunate for the kid and we’re gutted for him.

"He’s a young lad who gives everything, wants to drive his career on and you can see that by the way he conducts himself on the pitch. It’s a big blow because Isaac was a regular player for us.

"It’s part and parcel of the game and we have to accept that these things happen. We will put in support systems to help Isaac to recover from this and still feel very much part of what we’re doing here.

“He has huge potential and one thing I will say is that the only silver lining is that he’s 19 and got a full career ahead of him...it’s not like he’s 39 and it’s a career ender. Hopefully we can get him doctored up pretty soon, get him into the rehabilitation stage and get him back on the pitch as soon as possible.”

Gareth Deane also missed Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Crusaders as McDonnell handed goalkeeper Mark Byrne his Premiership debut, but there was some positive news on the injury front with Conor McCloskey involved in a matchday squad for the first time in two months.

"Conor has been terrific since we came to the football club...we’ve certainly knocked a tune out of him and produced some big moments so far this season.” added McDonnell. “We’re absolutely delighted to have Conor back in amongst it.

"He can play a number of positions and we know the quality he possesses. That’s a positive in what has been a difficult week for us.”

Defeat at Seaview means the Lurgan Blues are now winless in six matches since January’s victory over Carrick Rangers and also resulted in them dropping down to 10th after Dungannon Swifts defeated Cliftonville at Stangmore Park.

They trail sixth-placed Coleraine by eight points as their dream of a top-half finish seemingly slips away and McDonnell felt it was an “opportunity squandered” against Crusaders.

"We haven’t reached the energy that we have in recent games,” he said. “That’s the most disappointing part because when you look at the game we ended up getting drawn into their game ever so slightly...it became stretched and they’re good at what they do and we’re not so good at what they do.

"We didn’t have the oomph or go in us. It’s really disappointing because it’s another game of football that is gone and another opportunity squandered.”