Colchester United manager John Ward has admitted Magnus Okuonghae’s troublesome ankle problem is becoming a concern.

The powerful U’s defender is set to see a specialist over the injury, which has hampered him on and off for nearly two months.

Okuonghae, 24, returned to Colchester’s starting line-up for their recent games against Hartlepool United and Swindon Town.

However, the former Dagenham and Redbridge man sat out the U’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Brentford on Tuesday night with the injury.

And he is definitely out of their FA Cup second round clash with Swindon Supermarine, this weekend.

Ward told the Gazette: “It’s a concern.

“It’s a problem for Magnus and it’s a problem for us.

“We’ll get his injury explored in a bit more depth.

“I’ll discuss the next move with (physio) Tony Flynn and we’ll probably be looking to get a specialist’s view.

“He certainly won’t be fit for Saturday and I’m not prepared to put him in the team at the moment.”

For more on this story and all of the latest Colchester United news, see Thursday's Gazette.