Plymouth Argyle Faces Growing Injury List After Hartridge Setback

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

The 27-year-old, a free-transfer arrival in the summer, suffered the injury late on in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Doncaster Rovers after coming off the bench. Scans have since confirmed ligament damage, leaving Argyle braced for a spell without a defender who had quickly become a constant in Tom Cleverley’s side.

Hartridge had featured in every Argyle game this season, underlining his importance in the early weeks of the campaign, and marked his debut with a goal in the Carabao Cup against former club Exeter City. Now he joins an increasingly busy treatment room.

He is the latest name on a growing injury list that already includes Michael Baidoo, ruled out until November with a hamstring problem, as well as Malachi Boateng and Jack MacKenzie.

“It’s another unfortunate one,” head coach Tom Cleverley told BBC South West, his frustration clear as another defender dropped out of contention.

“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,” he said. “They’re not load management, they’re not staffing problems, they’re just part and parcel of a contact sport.”

The only case Cleverley feels Argyle can truly dissect is Baidoo’s.

“Michael Baidoo’s the one that we can review and analyse how we can manage better, or the player can manage better,” he added. “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.”

Argyle must now navigate the next few weeks without a defender who had settled quickly and given their back line a reliable edge. With fixtures stacking up and options thinning, the next month will test both the depth of Cleverley’s squad and the resilience of a team already learning to live with setbacks.