Brady confirms Guthrie faces time out after signing of Willis

Cobblers boss Jon Brady has confirmed that captain Jon Guthrie will be sidelined ‘for a few weeks’ after sustaining a hamstring injury against Reading last week.

The centre-back’s return to the team was carefully managed back in August after he missed the end of last season and the start of pre-season with a significant hamstring problem.

His latest injury is not as serious but he is likely to miss the majority of October, and that news prompted Brady to add defensive cover with the addition of experienced centre-half Jordan Willis, who has signed a short-term deal until January.

The 29-year-old has been training with Northampton for several weeks and was on the bench for Saturday’s game against Shrewsbury Town. Cobblers now have two weeks without a game after Saturday’s scheduled visit of Portsmouth was postponed due to international call-ups.

"Jon came off with a hamstring injury against Reading and he went for a scan,” said Brady. “He’ll be out for a few weeks unfortunately. It is what it is.

"Jordan’s come in as cover. He’s got good pedigree at the level but obviously his match sharpness is not quite there. He probably could have gone on for 10 minutes at the end if needed against Shrewsbury.

"But now he’s got a good two weeks ahead of us to get him up to speed and get some good training under his belt.”