'Too early to say' - Manager responds as Sunderland loanee suffers injury setback

Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson has stated that it is too early to tell the severity of Jack Diamond's injury but hopes it isn't too serious.

Diamond had not played any competitive football since a loan switch to Lincoln City was curtailed in March of last year, when the 24-year-old was charged with rape and sexual assault and suspended by Sunderland.

Diamond was subsequently cleared of all charges at Newcastle Crown Court last month and said he was looking forward to resuming his career following his acquittal.

He has since been back at the Academy of Light to resume footballing activity but moved to Carlisle on loan in search of regular game time with the club fighting relegation from League One.

The winger went straight into Carlisle's team but was withdrawn after 20 minutes of his first match with an injury. Carlisle were beaten 3-2 by Leyton Orient to slip to the bottom spot in League One.

"I think it was just a kick, but it’s too early to say," said United's manager Simpson. "We’ll asses it on Monday and see how it settles down but I’d like to think it’s nothing serious.

"He got a whack on [his ankle] and it was too sore to carry on. He didn't feel stable enough on it.

"There are many things we need to do better and need to improve on rather than hoping and praying that Jack Diamond is right," said the manager after the fifth straight defeat. We’ve got to make sure we do a lot of things better than we did today."