SWINDON TOWN: Mason facing up to four weeks out

The on-loan Tottenham midfielder was substituted late on in Swindon Town’s 4-0 defeat at Macclesfield and, as revealed by www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk yesterday, Mason now faces up to a month on the sidelines.

A scan on the problem area on Tuesday revealed the extent of the damage and, after watching his side beat Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy southern section area quarter-finals last night, manager Cooper told the Adver that Mason will be missed.

“The scan has said he’s going to be two to four weeks, depending on how he recovers,” he said.

“It’s more frustrating for the boy. He must be pulling his hair out because every time he gets back and plays one or two games he gets injured. I just feel desperately sorry for him.

“He’s had every test that’s feasible to come up with. Sometimes your body might not be fully developed yet and he might have to reach that before he gets to a stage where he can string games together.

“I’m just desperately sorry for Ryan because he’s a good footballer.”

No decision has yet been made on whether Mason will return to treatment at Spurs, with Cooper saying: “It depends how long they’re out. He’s had his scan here and now we’ll speak to the Tottenham physios and decide which way we go – whether he has treatment back there or here.”

Meanwhile, the Robins boss was delighted with the impact made by Ryan Harley, whose 45-minute cameo last night coincided with a turnaround of fortunes for Swindon.

Town trailed to a Matt McClure goal until the 76th minute of the clash at the County Ground but two late Nicky Ajose strikes, one a deflection from a Harley free-kick, saw the home side progress.

“He’s technically very good and he’s got the gift of being able to play the ball around corners and chop it between the lines,” Cooper said of Harley. “It causes problems for defenders and hopefully we can keep him fit as well.”