Courtney Baker-Richardson will be sidelined for ‘the foreseeable future’ after sustaining a serious hamstring injury.

Interim boss Lee Bell delivered the disappointing news about Crewe Alexandra’s top scorer at a press conference on Tuesday morning.

He says the 26-year-old, who has bagged eight goals this term, will now consult a surgeon to see what the next steps are.

Bell said: “It’s not good news. On Friday he pulled up with a hamstring, and we got the results back from an MRI scan yesterday, and it looks like he will be out for the foreseeable future.

“He’s going to see a surgeon to see what the next step is, but he’s going to be such a miss for the group, and the team. He’s our top scorer.”

Baker-Richardson signed a two-year deal at Mornflake Stadium in the summer, and has impressed with his fully-committed displays.

Bell, who also reported that Rod McDonald (hamstring) is back in training and in contention for the trip to Swindon on Saturday (3pm), but said he’s likely to hold striker Christopher Long (ankle) back for another week, says it is now up to others to take their chance in Baker-Richardson’s absence.

He added: “Courtney is a really big miss. I love his personality, I spoke to him last night. He’s a leader. But these things happen in football, and it opens the door for other people.

“We are now looking at who can fill that void.”