Portsmouth's promotion rivals Lincoln suffer huge injury blow as star-man Jorge Grant faces key period on sidelines

The attacking midfielder, who tops the scoring charts at Sincil Bank, limped out of the weekend defeat at Plymouth with an ankle injury.

And according to the latest update, the 26-year-old could be out for ‘quite a while’.

Grant is currently wearing a protective boot, with Lincoln waiting on the swelling to go down before a scan can be carried out.

The injury will come as a huge blow for manager Michael Appleton, who’s side have taken League One by surprise this season.

Not only is Grant the Imps’ top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions, he’s also their most creative force, with nine assists to his name so far.

Meanwhile, the former Nottingham Forest academy graduate is also the club’s most used player this season, with 42 appearances in total.

Appleton said the possible timeframe for recovery didn’t look great as Lincoln bid to close in on promotion to the Championship.

The Imps boss told Lincolnshire Live: ‘He’s still very sore. The ankle is still very swollen.

‘He’ll be in a protective boot for a few days until the swelling subsides.

‘Then it’ll be a more sensible decision to get it scanned, when that swelling dies down a little bit.

‘It doesn’t look great, to be honest with you.

‘I’d be amazed if it’s weeks but I’d be absolutely delighted at the same time.

‘Having looked at it at the time, having watched it back on the video, then seeing some of the close images, it doesn’t look great.

‘Let’s hope the scan gives us a healthier picture. I think we’re going to see him on the sidelines for a quite a while.’

Grant scored twice in the 4-3 loss at Home Park – both from the penalty spot – before being substituted on 86 minutes.

The defeat left Lincoln second in the table – four points behind leaders Peterborough and a point better off than third-placed Hull, who have played to games more.

Pompey are five points adrift of the automatic promotion places, having played the same number of matches as both Posh and the Imps.

Lincoln host Fleetwood tomorrow night try to reverse a slump in form that has seen them record one win in five League One outings.

The Blues head to fellow promotion-chasers Doncaster Rovers, who are looking for a new manager following Darren Moore’s departure to link up with Sheffield Wednesday.

‘