Mikael Mandron: Crewe Alexandra striker sidelined by 'serious' knee injury

Crewe striker Mikael Mandron suffered his knee injury in last Tuesday's 1-0 defeat at his former club Gillingham

Relegation-threatened Crewe Alexandra have been dealt a painful blow in their bid to stay in League One by the loss of injured striker Mikael Mandron.

The Alex's top scorer has been ruled out for "an extended period" after suffering a "serious" knee injury in last week's 1-0 defeat at Gillingham.

Crewe, 23rd in League One, say they expect the 27-year-old Frenchman to return before the end of the season.

But he is out of contract in the summer and stalling over a new deal.

Mandron, signed from Gillingham in August 2020, was Crewe's top scorer last season with 14 goals in all competitions - and is again their leading marksman this season with nine.

But, since he hit the winner in the 2-1 midweek victory over Charlton Athletic in January, David Artell's Crewe have picked up just one point.

Chris Long's goal in Tuesday's 4-1 home midweek loss to Plymouth Argyle was their first in more than seven hours of football - and they are now eight points adrift of safety, with 16 games to go.

But they did sign two strikers during the January transfer window, Bassala Sambou from Fortuna Sittard and Dan Agyei from Oxford United - and also have veteran target man Chris Porter to call on.