Oh Eck,the Pilgrimage did not last long!

Richard Eckersley is back at Turf Moor after picking up an ankle injury in Plymouth's recent game away to Scunthorpe.

A bad tackle by Scunthorpe's Matt Sparrow in the 21st minute meant Eckersley could no longer continue.

'Richard had an X-ray on Sunday,' Plymouth manager, Paul Mariner explained. 'We took him to emergency at a hospital in Colchester, after we got to our hotel.

'There's no break but there's a tremendous amount of swelling, so it's very difficult to assess the injury. We have to wait for it to go down, and we've sent him back to Burnley so that the medical team up there can have a look at him. We've kept [Burnley manager] Brian Laws fully aware of what's going on.'

The right-back returned to Turf Moor on crutches and further information on the injury is awaited.

Eckersley has been plagued with injuries since signing a one month's loan with the Pilgrims earlier this month.

He had already missed one match against Bristol City a week ago with a groin strain but now he has to contend with a potentially more serious ankle injury.

It had all started brightly too for Eckersley after he was named of the man of the match in his debut.

Depending on the extent of his injury it still could be possible that Eckersley might return to Home Park before the end of the season.

Mariner speaking about the possibility of a return said:

'He wants to stay with us and we want him to stay so, hopefully, he can come back at some point. He's only a young lad and they are quick healers.

'If he's out for four weeks, say, at least he could still help us a little bit towards the end of the season.'

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