Sittingbourne defender Jason Fregene has been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.

It’s a big blow to the Brickies and their left-back, who hasn’t played since going off in the 3-1 defeat at Guernsey at the start of February.

Fregene has impressed since signing from Hollands & Blair last summer and looks set to feature prominently in the player-of-the-year vote.

Brickies boss Chris Lynch said: “Jason’s had an MRI and he’ll require an operation.

“He’s out for the rest of the season and that’s a big blow because he’s been an absolute rock for us.

“When he first came in he needed a little bit of confidence but he’s grown massively and done really well for us.

“It’s sad because we’ve had a lot of injuries this year which have hurt us at times.

“We were in with a shout of the play-offs and in the space of a few games we’re down to 16th.”

Bourne have signed Temi Oladejo from Herne Bay to cover Fregene and there’s also a new face in midfield with TJ Bramble arriving on a youth loan from Gillingham

Hopes of ending a run of six defeats in seven games were dashed at Phoenix Sports on Tuesday, Brickies losing 3-0, and on Saturday they host Haywards Heath.

Meanwhile, Lynch has named defender Cory Walters-Wright as his new captain following Chris Webber’s move to Sheppey.

Goalkeeper Jordan Perrin and Lex Allan have been made up to vice-captains.

Lynch said: “Cory’s been vice-captain all year under Chris Webber so he was the natural choice to step into his shoes.

“The captaincy is an important role and one I take seriously.

“You’ve got to be a leader, on and off the pitch, you’ve got to provide a bit of experience and you need to have appropriate chats with players at times, because it can’t just be down to the management.

“I feel it’s an underrated role in today’s game.

“Cory’s got a different style to Chris, who was a very calm head. He gets his vision across a bit differently, shall we say, but it’s the same vision I have.

“It all comes down to different characters and personalities. It doesn’t matter how the message gets across, as long as it does.

“Ultimately, we want to win games. That’s what it’s about.”

Allan and Perrin have been rewarded for strong campaigns with the vice-captaincy roles.

Lynch added: “I wanted to reward Jordan and Lex for their great performances. They’ve epitomised everything I’m about with their professionalism, work rate and effort.

“They’ve both done really well and deserve to step up.”

• Time to move on
• Non-league latest

Read more: All the latest sports news in Kent