Plymouth Argyle's Alex Hartridge Faces Month Out with Ankle Injury

Plymouth Argyle have been dealt a significant defensive blow with Alex Hartridge facing up to a month on the sidelines after damaging ankle ligaments.

The 27-year-old, who only arrived at Home Park on a free transfer in the summer, suffered the injury late on in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Doncaster Rovers after coming off the bench. What looked like routine minutes to help see out the game have turned into an unwanted spell in the treatment room.

Hartridge has been a constant presence in Tom Cleverley’s side so far this season. The former Exeter City and Wycombe Wanderers defender had featured in every Argyle game, marking his debut with a goal in the Carabao Cup against Exeter. His early form had helped steady a new-look back line; now Cleverley must reshuffle again.

He is the latest name to join an increasingly busy injury list. Michael Baidoo is already ruled out until November with a hamstring problem, while Malachi Boateng and Jack MacKenzie are also unavailable.

“It's another unfortunate one,” head coach Tom Cleverley told BBC South West, cutting a frustrated but pragmatic figure. “It's one of those things, it happens in football. We've got four boys out at the minute, Macca is one we've carried from last year and two from innocuous challenges with Alex and Malachi.

“They're not load management, they're not staffing problems, they're just part and parcel of a contact sport.

“Michael Baidoo's the one that we can review and analyse how we can manage better, or the player can manage better, but the injury numbers have been very pleasing and three out of the four we have got out have been either carried over from last season or contact knocks.”

So the numbers, Cleverley insists, are not a crisis. But losing a first-choice defender who had quickly embedded himself in the side asks a different question: how deep can Argyle dig into this squad before the strain really starts to show?