SOUTHEND United midfielder Michael Timlin will today discover the seriousness of the dislocated elbow he suffered against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday.

Timlin picked up the injury when scoring a late goal in a pre-season friendly at Spurs’ training ground.

But Blues boss Phil Brown does not yet know how long Timlin will be sidelined for.

“It’s a blow because Tims is an important player for us and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that he won’t be out for too long,” said Brown.

“It happened towards the end of the game and it actually happened when he was scoring a goal.

“He landed awkwardly on it and was in a lot of pain.

“He will be out for a couple of weeks and will certainly miss three or four pre-season games but we will know more when he goes to see a specialist about it today.

“We’re obviously hoping he can still be fit for the start of the season but I would imagine it’s very touch and go at this stage.”

Timlin had his elbow popped back in to place within a few minutes of suffering the dislocation.

But he is no stranger to injury affected pre-seasons.

Two years ago he was sidelined by a shoulder problem and last summer he was working his way back from a broken leg.

Now the midfielder faces another race to get fit and currently not the only injury concern at the club.

Centre-back Adam Thompson missed Tuesday night’s 3-1 win at Billericay Town with a back spasm and midfielder Ryan Leonard is also sidelined.

He picked up a leg injury during the Billericay game and was forced to miss yesterday’s defeat at Tottenham.

No further details have been released from the game due to a request from Spurs.