Harrogate Town discover full extent of Will Smith's 'devastating' knee injury

Harrogate Town centre-half Will Smith. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

The 23-year-old centre-half went down clutching his leg in the 20th minute of his side’s 3-0 defeat at Northampton and had to be replaced by Leon Legge.

Manager Simon Weaver said that he didn’t expect that the ex-Barnsley defender would be able to play again this season, and a scan has now confirmed that Smith is facing an extended period on the sidelines.

“He’s done his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and it doesn’t really get much worse than that,” the Town boss revealed to the Harrogate Advertiser.

“This news is devastating both for him and for us. It’s a huge blow. He’s a good lad, a young, dedicated player with his career ahead of him and now he is facing a long time out. There’s no way he will be back in time for pre-season.

“It looked like he had twisted his knee. It beggars belief really because the incident seemed so innocuous, but often they are when it comes to the ACL.

“But, he’s one of ours and we will be with him every step of the way as he progresses through his rehabilitation. Rachel [Davis] our physio will look after him and have him back as soon as possible."

Smith’s diagnosis means that Town will head into Saturday's League Two clash with Carlisle United missing as many as 10 senior players.

Mark Oxley, Ryan Fallowfield, Lewis Page, Josh Falkingham, Brahima Diarra and Lewis Richards will not play again this term, while Alex Pattison, Lloyd Kerry and Calum Kavanagh are all currently nursing injuries.