CHERRIES star Neil Young will be sidelined for a minimum of four weeks after becoming the latest addition to the crippling Dean Court injury crisis.

Young has been ruled out at least until mid-February after breaking his right ankle during Cherries' FA Cup third round clash with Crewe on Saturday.

The luckless 29-year-old defender was given the bad news after undergoing an MRI scan at Poole Hospital yesterday.

It revealed Young had sustained a stress fracture when he fell awkwardly during the closing stages of Cherries' 0-0 draw against the Railwaymen.

Although the scan confirmed the break, Young was last night also due to have a further consultation with top orthopaedic surgeon Gavin Bowyer to ascertain the extent of additional ligament damage.

Young is the second player to break his ankle in the space of a fortnight after Karl Broadhurst sustained a similar injury on December 23. And no fewer than eight members of Sean O'Driscoll's squad have already had 10 operations between them this season.

Cherries physio Jim Marshall said: "There is a stress fracture to one of the bones in his ankle and there is some ligament damage as well. We will know more after we have seen the specialist."

In the wake of Young's injury, O'Driscoll is likely to step up his search for a new loan defender and confirmed he may add to his squad ahead of Cherries' trip to Cambridge on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Brian Stock, Warren Feeney, Derek Holmes and Narada will all be looking to stake their claims for a first-team recall when they line up for Cherries reserves today.

The quartet will be joined by Chukki Eribenne and Amos Foyewa who will also be out to impress when Cherries host Avon Insurance Combination rivals Plymouth Argyle.

With Marcus Browning suspended and Young sidelined due to injury, at least two places will be up for grabs for Cherries' clash against the U's at the Abbey Stadium.

And although Narada would appear to be the most likely candidate to step in for Young with Stock replacing Browning, Cherries boss O'Driscoll could also consider a number of other options.

Cherries, who host the Pilgrims at the Fawcett's Field Sports Ground in New Milton (2pm), have named a number of under-19 squad members, including goalkeeper Simon Taylor.

Cherries' Division Three clash at Rochdale has been rearranged for Tuesday, January 28 (7.45pm kick-off).