Scunthorpe United have been dealt a blow with the news Jimmy Ryan faces longer on the sidelines than expected.

It was hoped the midfielder would be back within four weeks after suffering a knee injury against Walsall.

But manager Alan Knill has revealed Ryan is now likely to be out for months rather than weeks.

"We've had some pretty poor news with Jimmy Ryan – it's going to be a lot longer than we thought," he said.

"He had a scan on Friday and the result wasn't very good.

"We were expecting him back within two or three weeks, but it looks like it's going to be a lot longer than that now.

"It's his medial ligament. He's got a tear at the bottom of it and it's quite a bad one so it's going to take a little bit of time.

"It's one of those. They give you a prognosis, but it doesn't matter.

"If someone says 12 or 15 weeks, it is irrelevant really. It's just when he's fit.

"I'm hoping he's going to be back before we all think, not just for us, but for him as well.

"He scored his goal against Walsall, then all of a sudden got his injury and now he hasn't kicked a ball for two weeks.

"Especially for someone like Jimmy, who is so enthusiastic and wants to be on the pitch and training, it's a bit of a blow for him.

"Unfortunately it goes with the territory.

"The sooner he comes back, the better for everybody but it's looking like months."