Plymouth Argyle’s Owen Oseni facing six weeks out with ankle injury

Plymouth Argyle striker Owen Oseni is expected to miss about six weeks after suffering an ankle injury in the club’s match against Crystal Palace Under-21s last month.

The 23-year-old played for 33 minutes before being forced to leave the game. Plymouth head coach Tom Cleverley said the club was taking additional care because Oseni has previously had problems with the same ankle.

“Because it’s an ankle he’s injured in the past, the specialist has advised we take a little bit more time to make sure that ankle heals and is as stable as it can be,” Cleverley told BBC Radio Devon.

Cleverley said the latest setback was particularly frustrating for Oseni, whose season has been disrupted after he also missed a significant part of pre-season.

“I’m disappointed for him because his season’s not got going,” he said.

“He missed a large part of pre-season and then he’s trying to chase a little bit of fitness. Then, in a sort of nothing action of the game, chasing a ball into the channel, the defender falls on him and his ankle sprains.”

The Plymouth manager added that Oseni had been involved in an important fixture but was unable to finish it without injury.

“It was an important game that he played in against Palace Under-21s, and unfortunately he didn’t come out the other end of it fit,” Cleverley said.

Oseni joined the Pilgrims from Scottish side St Mirren last summer after an impressive campaign in which he scored 10 goals in 33 appearances.

Those performances led to his first Nigeria senior international appearance in May. He is now set for a period on the sidelines as he continues his recovery from the ankle problem.

The decision to give him extra time to heal is intended to ensure the ankle regains sufficient stability before he returns to action.