Plymouth Argyle's Alex Hartridge Faces Month Out Due to Ankle Injury

Plymouth Argyle have been dealt a defensive blow with Alex Hartridge facing up to a month on the sidelines after damaging ankle ligaments.

The 27-year-old, a free-transfer arrival in the summer, picked up the injury late on in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Doncaster Rovers, having come off the bench to help see out the game. Scans have since confirmed ligament damage, leaving Argyle without a player who had quietly become a constant in Tom Cleverley’s first campaign in charge.

Hartridge, formerly of Exeter City and Wycombe Wanderers, had featured in every Argyle match this season and announced himself with a goal on his debut in the Carabao Cup against Exeter. His absence rips a dependable left-sided option out of Cleverley’s back line at a time when the squad is already being tested.

He joins an increasingly busy treatment room. Michael Baidoo is ruled out until November with a hamstring injury, while Malachi Boateng and Jack MacKenzie are also missing. Four senior players, all unavailable, just as the season begins to settle into its relentless rhythm.

"It's another unfortunate one," head coach Tom Cleverley told BBC South West, his frustration clear. He pointed to the nature of the setbacks rather than any deeper structural issue.

"We've got four boys out at the minute, Macca is one we've carried from last year and two from innocuous challenges with Alex and Malachi," he said. "They're not load management, they're not staffing problems, they're just part and parcel of a contact sport."

That leaves Baidoo as the only case Cleverley feels the club can truly dissect.

"Michael Baidoo's the one that we can review and analyse how we can manage better, or the player can manage better," he added, stressing that the broader injury picture remains under control. "But the injury numbers have been very pleasing and three out of the four we have got out have been either carried over from last season or contact knocks."

For now, Argyle must shuffle again. A key defender out, a tight squad stretched, and a long season still looming into view.