Dartford striker Andy Pugh won’t play again for at least two months after being told he has a torn testicle.

The 25-year-old former Gillingham player was hit in the groin by the ball during last Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Welling at Princes Park.

Pugh was substituted at half-time and driven to hospital, where he was kept in overnight.

He didn’t feature against Southport on Saturday and Darts manager Tony Burman doesn’t expect to see him back in training for a while.

Burman said: "Pughy’s had an operation and it looks like he might be out for a little while.

"He’s taken a blow in the private parts and it turned out to be worse than we first thought.

"They did an operation to remove a blood clot and he has a tear in his testicle.

"He’ll have a scan in the next six weeks and he’ll be out for a minimum of two months."

Pugh was one of four Dartford players to miss the Southport game because of injury.

Centre-half Mat Mitchel-King (back) has rested and should feature against Lincoln on Saturday, although fellow defender Nathan Collier (Achilles) only has "a slim chance" of being involved at Sincil Bank. Lee Burns (calf) is still struggling.

Read the full story in the Dartford Messenger.