PLYMOUTH Albion captain Jake Murphy is hoping he will not be out for too long after fracturing bone in his right hand.

Murphy suffered the injury in training last week but did not think anything of it and played the full 80 minutes of Saturday’s match against Blackheath.

However, his hand became more painful after the weekend, which led him to go for an X-ray.

He will now visit a consultant on Thursday, to see if it will cause him to miss any of Albion’s remaining five games. Plymouth’s next match is not until April 2 when they visit Ampthill.

“I’ve got an appointment with a consultant, but, hopefully, it’s nothing too serious, just a little nick,” said Murphy.

“I did it in training,” he added. “It was just something innocuous. It was one of those things. You pick up bumps and bruises all the time and don’t really pay much attention to them.

“It didn’t keep me out of the training session or Saturday. I didn’t really think much of it, but after the game it was a bit more noticeable so I thought I’d better be safe than sorry and get it checked out.

“I am now just waiting to hear the final results. Hopefully, if it is something little it heals quickly, but we won’t rush it as we’ve got a squad good enough to fill in.”

He added:  “You never want to pick up injuries, especially at this time of the season when we only have a few games left now.

“The way we are performing you don’t want to miss out and, as has been shown in the past, if you are unlucky enough to pick up an injury you have to work doubly hard to get back into the team as boys are nipping at your heals.

“But I’ll keep my head down and work hard and, hopefully, I will back as soon as possible.”

Murphy missed three games over the Christmas period due to an ankle problem and he had to wait to get back into the team.

“I will try not to get too down on it,” he said. “I’ve never picked up two injuries that have kept me out in a season before so it a bit frustrating, especially with the form the boys are in and the way we are playing.

“I think the way the season is going to finish you want to be involved in. We are still right in the mix.

“It’s disappointing on an individual point but on a team point whatever happens I will still be around bugging the boys and trying to keep them in line.”