ARGYLE Ladies' combative right-back Hayley Stroud has been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering a horrific accident in a recent training session.

The incident occurred last Sunday, when the Pilgrims were forced to hold a training session after their scheduled league game against Swindon Town fell foul to the bad weekend weather. Only 10 minutes into the session, Stroud jumped for a header and landed awkwardly on the astroturf surface, severely twisting her ankle in the process.

After being rushed to hospital, it was revealed that her tibia and fibula were broken in numerous places and she subsequently underwent a four-hour operation to re-align the ankle joint, and insert a metal plate and pins to the broken bones.

It will mean that she is out of action for a minimum of 3-4 months - realistically putting her out of the frame for the Pilgrims busy title run in, where they have the difficult task of making up a 16 point gap on league leaders Reading with five games in hand on the Berkshire side.

From her hospital bed, Stroud summed up her mood. She said: "It was awful when it happened. I just looked down and couldn't even see my ankle. Since then though, all I have been thinking about is all the football I am going to miss.

"Since joining Argyle I have really enjoyed my football, so to have this happen at a crucial time of the season is really frustrating. However, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody connected to the club: my team-mates, the coaches and committee who have been brilliant since it happened. It has meant a lot. I'm looking forward to cheering the team on from now until the end of the season."

The loss of numbers in the squad didn't stop there over the weekend, however, as striker Sam Blake left the club after joining FA Premier Southern League side Newquay. Blake has struggled for form this season with the Pilgrims, and is hoping to re-ignite her goalscoring form across the border with the Peppermints.

Manager Ryan Thomas has been working hard to make amends by getting the ball rolling with regards to recruiting new players to cover the losses.

He said: "Losing Hayley has been a big blow as she has been excellent for us this season, and our best wishes go out to her.

"Blakey's (Sam Blake) departure has been on the cards for a few weeks now, and she goes with our blessing. I sincerely hope she enjoys her football down there, and is a success with her new side. I have a job on my hands to replace them now, but I have already put in an approach for a player who is experienced at this level, and who has excelled whilst representing her county side with quality players around her.

"My thinking is that she could reproduce that kind of form for us, so, hopefully we can do a deal quickly and keep the number of quality players in the squad high. We have a massive job to win these games in hand and set up a real grandstand finish to the season, but were are doing all we can to make that dream a reality."