Swindon Town defender Billy Kirkman has been ruled out for up to six weeks with a knee injury, the club has confirmed.

Kirkman sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL) in Town's 2-0 home win over Barrow on Saturday, January 18.

After being subbed on in the 74th minute, the 20-year-old lasted just nine minutes before having to be replaced by Jake Cain after sustaining the injury.

Kirkman had lasted just 45 minutes in the club's 2-1 home loss to Birmingham City in the EFL Trophy due to a sore ankle.

A spokesperson for the club said: "Swindon Town can confirm that Billy Kirkman has sprained his Medial Collateral Ligament during our game against Barrow and is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.

"Wishing you a speedy recovery, Billy."

He is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines as Town's defensive injury crisis deepens, with Joel McGregor, Harrison Minturn, Grant Hall, and Miguel Freckleton all also out injured.

Speaking after Saturday's win, Holloway said: “It doesn’t look good. Simply because he has had an MCL before, that is in the knee and you lose stability; he has had it in his other knee and he said that it felt the same.

“That is why he looked so desperate [as he was coming off] and that is the only downer for me.

“He has been exceptional, and I only didn’t pick him because I was worried about his ankle.

“That is a real downer for the boy and I said to him ‘You will be a player for us, son, to do what you have done is amazing and it will only be a few months. You will get over it, you will be fine, and you are going to have a future here.’

“We don’t know yet [exactly what he has done], it doesn’t look good at the moment."

Read More: Swindon winger Sean McGurk to remain on loan at Yeovil

Kirkman has scored once in 10 appearances since arriving at the Nigel Eady County Ground in August 2024 after a successful trial period at the club.

The 20-year-old spent much of the first half of the season on loan at National League South side Weston-Super-Mare, before being recalled in December and marking his Town debut with a goal against Wycombe Wanderers.

The Robins will now potentially be without the promising defender until March, but Kirkman is expected to return to full fitness before the season's run-in.

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