Hartlepool United manager Kevin Phillips said Anthony Mancini felt he was fit before limping off during Southend stalemate

The Frenchman has endured a frustrating campaign, with a hamstring injury he suffered in August restricting him to 14 games so far this season.

Mancini quickly became a fan favourite following a blistering start to his Pools career but missed four months after being forced off during the bank holiday defeat at Chesterfield.

He returned on Boxing Day but, despite a match-winning strike from distance against Ebbsfleet a month later, never quite looked fully fit and suffered another setback during the win over York at the end of January.

Phillips had hinted that this weekend's visit of Southend might come too soon for the former Accrington Stanley man but he was a surprise inclusion within the matchday squad.

With Pools struggling to break down a solid Shrimpers, Phillips turned to the talismanic midfielder just after the hour - only for him to hobble off down the tunnel 12 minutes later having been feeling his groin almost since the moment of his arrival onto the pitch.

Mancini was visibly disappointed in the dugout after the game and Phillips confirmed that he will likely have to plan for next weekend's trip to Eastleigh without the 22-year-old in mind.

"It's one of those, only Anth can answer the question of whether or not he was 100 per cent before he took to the pitch," he said.

"I'm going off what I'm being told and what I've seen at training - he's actually trained really well this week.

"He's obviously got an issue there and we need to get it sorted.

"I can't give anymore information until we assess it, we have to let it settle down.

"We couldn't leave him on the pitch because he was offering us nothing.

"I'll be preparing now probably for next Saturday without him.

"It's a difficult one, you can see he's got his head down. Hopefully it's not too bad.

"I was really hoping he was going to go on and change the dynamic of the game and give us that energy and impetus. We all know the qualities he's got.

"I think we did the right thing in taking him off and we'll just have to see how he is on Monday."