Midfielder suffers injury agony following 'horrific' challenge at Shrewsbury on Tuesday night.

Crewe Alexandra have been dealt a huge blow with the news Oli Finney has broken his leg. The midfielder was on the receiving end of a late challenge from Shrewsbury’s Harry Chapman on Tuesday and a scan has revealed the full extent of the damage.

Finney, 23, has scored 8 goals from midfield this season from his 31 appearances and he will face a challenge to return before the end of the current campaign.

The injury has left everyone devastated for the former Academy graduate and manager David Artell irate that the offender only received a yellow card for what he described as ‘a horrific tackle’ at the time.

Artell told the club’s official website: “Oli has broken his leg. It is a real blow and I spoke to his mum this morning and he is absolutely devastated. We are all devastated for him.

“It was a horrific tackle from Chapman and I said it to the fourth official at the time. The referee literally runs past him when Oli is in agony on the floor and after the ball goes dead he books him.

“There was one in the first half on Omar as well. Not as bad as the one that has broken Oli’s leg but still bad enough. It is those tackles that have been cut out in the Premier League but in the EFL they are alright, no problem and it has ended up with our player having his leg broken.

“When he couldn’t feel his leg on the pitch and that was the communication coming from the physio and our doctor, we thought this isn’t good. I said to the fourth, he has been done for a long time and he will need a stretcher.

“He has been able to put his weight on it and hobble off and it is just infuriating that the punishment doesn’t fit the tackle. It wouldn’t have prevented him breaking his leg but surely it has to be a red card?

He added: “We have had an email back from the referee’s assessor saying it ‘was probably a red card’. There is no probably about it and of course it’s disappointing.”