Christophe loan cut short

But Tilson expecting to complete permanent deal for midfielder

Last updated: 2nd December 2008

Christophe loan cut short

Christophe: Hamstring injury

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Southend United boss Steve Tilson is confident of signing Jean-Francois Christophe permanently after the midfielder's loan was cut short.

Christophe was due to return to Portsmouth after the Shrimpers' League One clash against leaders Leicester City this weekend.

However, the French youngster picked up a hamstring injury in the FA Cup win over Luton Town last Saturday and has been ruled out for two weeks.

"Jean's going to be out for between two to four weeks with the hamstring injury," Tilson told the club's official website.

Disappointing

"It's disappointing for both him and ourselves, but his loan spell was ending after Saturday anyway so we're going to be without him for one game more than we originally expected."

Though Christophe has gone back to Portsmouth, Tilson is optimistic the player will return to Roots Hall permanently in the New Year.

He added: "Things are close to being sorted on that front.

"We're just waiting for his agent to come back and it's pretty much done."