SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown has been buoyed by the results of Stephen McLaughlin’s latest scan on his injured foot.

The winger has missed Blues’ last two matches with the heel problem he sustained during the 2-1 defeat at Scunthorpe United in the first round of the FA Cup.

But further scans have again shown McLaughlin has suffered just severe bruising on the base of his foot, much to the relief of Brown.

“The injury has been taking a while to settle down so we sent Macca to London to get a more extensive scan done,” said the Shrimpers chief.

“He’s struggling to put his foot down on the floor but the scan didn’t show up anything else and the injured area is severely bruised rather than there actually being any breaks.

“Hopefully Macca can push on now and can start to show signs of improvements.”