Cambridge striker Lavery injury jinx strikes again

Shayne Lavery joined Cambridge United 15 months ago after his release by Blackpool

Injury-plagued Cambridge United striker Shayne Lavery is facing another extended lay-off.

The Northern Ireland international, who has been beset with hamstring issues during his time at the club, has been sidelined with a recurrence of the same injury.

The 26-year-old, who has 20 caps for his country, had to be substituted in the first half of Saturday's League Two defeat at Notts County and U's manager Neil Harris has confirmed he could be sidelined until Christmas.

"He's had his scan and he's going to be [out for] six or eight weeks again, as he was before, as he has tended to be in the past," Harris told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

Lavery had scored three goals in seven league appearances after starting the season late because of his hamstring troubles.

He has managed just 25 appearances in all competitions since joining from Blackpool in the summer of 2024.

"We're all devastated, we're all disappointed because he was just starting to show himself and how good he is at this level - or any level," Harris added.

"He's just a really good player. We're just gutted for the lad because he's devastated. We just felt like we were getting him in a position where we had him in a good spot.

"You can look back at all the data and all the build-in to the game but ultimately his body has not been able to handle it and that's tough for him to take and tough for us. He's going to be out for a period so we have to deal with that accordingly."

Harris, whose team entertain Chester in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend, hopes to have striker Louis Appere back fit for next Wednesday's EFL Trophy game against Brighton under-21s.

Appere has also been sidelined by a hamstring injury for the past six weeks.