Hartlepool United captain set for 'long-term' absence as Paul Hartley reacts to return of ex-Bradford City midfielder

Featherstone was forced off early during his 350th appearance for the club in the 1-1 draw at Colchester United after suffering an ankle injury following a heavy challenge from U’s midfielder Marley Marshall-Miranda.

Featherstone appeared to land awkwardly on his ankle as a result of the challenge and was unable to shake things off before being substituted.

The Pools captain could be seen leaving Essex with a protective boot on with Hartley, at the time, suggesting there could be ligament damage.

Asked last week on Featherstone’s condition, the Pools boss revealed he would be sent to see a specialist for the injury.

“He’s had a scan and he’s waiting to see the specialist and then it’ll just be a timescale after that,” Hartley confirmed last week.

“I can’t give a time in terms of how long he is going to be out for just now until he sees a specialist.”

But with Featherstone having now received a specialist view on the injury, the 33-year-old looks set to miss the next couple of months for Pools, with the midfielder understood to have ruptured his ankle ligaments.

“He’s probably out for about six or seven weeks with his ankle,” Hartley revealed to The Mail.

“So it’s a little bit of a long-term one for us which we’ve got to deal with it.”

Featherstone was at the Suit Direct Stadium as Pools had to settle for a point with Crewe Alexandra in midweek, with the midfielder still wearing a protective boot.

Former Bradford City man Callum Cooke replaced Featherstone against the Railwaymen, he himself having just returned from a tendonitis issue in his knee after a number of weeks out of the side.

Hartley said of Cooke: “He’s been out, he’s not played a lot of football, and we knew he probably wouldn’t last the game so it was important to get him a certain period of the game just to go for it and we did that.

“He was influential in the first half, picking up nice areas.”