Barnsley have been dealt a major blow ahead of their curtain raiser with Nottingham Forest at Oakwell on Saturday week.
The Tykes have lost influential defender Ben Williams to a serious knee injury, with the 21-year-old confirming he’ll miss the forthcoming Carabao Cup tie with the Reds and a lengthy period of the season after picking up a cruciate knee injury.
Williams suffered the injury during the Tykes’ pre-season training camp at St George’s Park, before Gerhard Struber’s men beat Crewe 2-0 in a friendly at Gresty Road on Saturday.
"Absolutely gutted to have picked up an injury setback at such a bad time and be out for a while," Williams wrote on Instagram.
“Staying positive and will be back stronger.”
Head coach Struber, who masterminded a great escape at the end of last term which included a dramatic late victory over Forest at Oakwell, admits the injury is a real low point and says he'll have to make a move into the transfer market in a bid to find cover.
“It was a really bad injury for Ben. It was the only disappointment of our week away, it was a sad moment for us.
“He was an important part of our squad and he’s a very talented, young boy who is always improving. He’d had a good week with us and so this is very sad for him and for us.
“We will now need to look into the transfer market in that area as it’s an ACL (knee ligament) injury and we expect that he’ll miss most of the season unfortunately.”
