Ryan Wintle faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a stress fracture of his tibia close to the ankle against Carlisle United on Saturday. Crewe Alexandra’s worst fears were concerned ahead of our mid-week trip to Wycombe Wanderers and now the former Alsager youngster is expected to be out for months as he recovers.

The 20-year-old limped out of our 5-0 home defeat to the Cumbrians. He has made 11 appearances this season and has established himself as a midfield regular ever since David Artell replaced Steve Davis as manager in January.

Wintle was one of three changes to the side Artell named to face Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night. Conor Grant and George Cooper were dropped to the bench as Jordan Bowery, Zoumana Bakayogo and Perry Ng were recalled in our 3-2 defeat.