Colchester United have confirmed Craig Eastmond’s ankle injury is not as bad as first feared.

The midfielder was stretchered off in the U’s friendly win over Heybridge Swifts last Wednesday but has not required an X-ray on the injury.

Dunne said: “The news on Craig is a lot more positive than we’d expected.

“At the moment, we feel we’re in control of it but it’s too early to say whether Craig will be fit for the new season.

“We have a great physio department with Tony (Flynn) and his crew and they’ve done a great job in bringing that swelling down.

“We’re very good with treating ligament damage injuries at our club and we’re in a positive situation, so we’ll see where it takes us from day to day.”

Josh Thompson is set to return to training this week, after recovering from a knee injury.

Thompson is yet to feature in any of the U’s friendlies so far but is likely to play a part in their game at Conference South side Braintree Town, this weekend.

See Monday's Gazette for more on this story and all of the latest Colchester United news.