Crewe Alexandra manager David Artell has revealed that the club have received a major boost over the injury to our inspirational midfielder Paul Green.

It was feared that the former Republic of Ireland International would miss the remainder of the season after he suffered a serious knee injury in a collision at Carlisle United – but a scheduled scan in London has indicated that he does not need surgery and could be back in the New Year.

It is a welcome boost for Artell, who has also lost Harry Pickering and Eddie Nolan to injury over the last couple of weeks.

The Crewe boss told the club’s official website:  “Paul travelled to see a specialist in London with our new physio (Mark Cornish) last week. The first thing is, he doesn’t need an operation which is a good thing.

“That will allow him to do some level of fitness work. He won’t be able to do much, but he will be permitted to do a bit.

“He has a knee brace on. That is positioned at 60 degrees for the next four weeks and then it will move to 70 degrees for a couple of weeks. It allows the shin to push forward and support the knee.

“We thought that it would be season ending but the scan has been a real positive on what was a dark day. We are hopeful that Paul will be back in the New Year at some point.”