Argyle's Watts out until new year with hamstring injury

Caleb Watts has scored two goals and started all eight League One games for Plymouth Argyle so far

Plymouth Argyle midfielder Caleb Watts will be out for up to four months after being told he needs surgery for a hamstring injury.

The summer signing had to come off inside the opening five minutes of the 3-2 win at Luton Town last Saturday.

Scans have shown the former Exeter City player will need an operation.

It is the latest setback for the 23-year-old, who has seen his career blighted by injury issues.

"We all know he's a good player and he's got really good qualities, especially for how I want to play," said head coach Tom Cleverley.

"The question mark has always been can he repeat that over and over and unfortunately his body's broken down.

"I'm disappointed for him, he'll be a miss, his character, his strong mentality and I wish him all the best in his rehab."

Watts is the third Plymouth Argyle player to be ruled out with a long-term injury this season - winger Xavier Amaechi is out with a similar injury to Watts, while defender Julio Pleguezuelo has undergone knee surgery.

Defender Jack Mackenzie is still out with a problem picked up in pre-season while goalkeeper Conor Hazard is returning from a knee problem sustained while on international duty in June.

Jamie Paterson and Kornel Szucs are also currently sidelined with injuries.

Cleverley says he and the club are undertaking a review into the volume of injuries players have suffered this season.

It is the second successive season the Pilgrims have suffered major issues early in the campaign, with former boss Wayne Rooney saying he would undertake a similar review last November.

"We've done a large bulk of it now to try and come to the reasons why.

"I think those things should be kept in-house and all we can look to do is rehab those guys the best we can and, really importantly, make sure that we set out the right measures so that our injury record improves and we prevent any further injuries.

"We're doing everything we can, the players also need to make sure that they're in the best condition to perform at this level consistently and we should get better."