Lincoln City striker Mason Melia is reportedly facing between four and six weeks on the sidelines after suffering a thigh injury.
The Tottenham Hotspur loanee missed Tuesday night’s 4-0 Carabao Cup defeat at Bournemouth, having also been absent from the squad for the Championship fixture against Southampton. Chris Cohen subsequently confirmed that the 18-year-old was struggling with a knock, but scan results have reportedly revealed a more significant problem.
According to football.london, Melia is expected to be unavailable for more than a month. That will rule him out of Saturday’s meeting with Preston North End, although the forthcoming three-week international break should limit the number of Lincoln fixtures he misses.
The injury represents another frustrating interruption to Melia’s season. He has made four appearances for the Imps since completing his season-long loan move, starting the 4-1 Carabao Cup victory at Blackpool and appearing three times from the bench in the Championship.
His opportunities have already been affected by City having six loan players in the squad. Only five can be selected in a matchday group, meaning one of Melia, Joe Gauci, Yunus Konak, Tanto Olaofe, Chiedozie Ogbene and James Collins must miss out whenever all six are available. Melia was the player omitted against Southampton, although his absence at Bournemouth now appears to have been injury-related.
The setback could also prevent Melia from adding to his international experience during the break. The striker made his senior Republic of Ireland debut during the summer, but is now likely to miss their Nations League fixtures against Kosovo, Israel and Austria.
Mason Melia joined Tottenham in January after completing his move from St Patrick’s Athletic. The initial fee was reportedly £1.6 million, a League of Ireland record, with potential add-ons that could eventually double the value of the transfer. He signed a contract running until 2031 after scoring 25 goals and registering eight assists across 98 senior appearances for St Pat’s.
A back problem and chest infection had already delayed his introduction at Tottenham, although he recovered to join the first-team squad for their summer tour of New Zealand and Australia. His move to Lincoln was intended to provide regular Championship experience, but this latest injury means he must wait before attempting to establish himself in the Imps’ attack.
City will hope the international break gives Melia sufficient time to complete a substantial part of his recovery without missing too much football. However, the immediate focus will be on getting him fit again after a stop-start opening to his loan spell.
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