Lincoln's Darikwa out for season with knee injury

Lincoln City captain Tendayi Darikwa has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.

The 34-year-old defender suffered the knee injury in the first half of Saturday's 3-1 Championship home defeat by Portsmouth, and is now set to undergo surgery.

Last season Darikwa skippered the club to the League One title and promotion back to the second tier after a 65-year absence.

He created the Imps' first goal on their return to the Championship, setting up Adam Reach for his early goal in the opening-day defeat at Middlesbrough.

Darikwa is in his third season with Lincoln and is among the Imps' most experienced Championship players, having previously played in the division for Nottingham Forest and Wigan Athletic.

Lincoln joint head coach Chris Cohen said everyone at the club was "devastated" when they learned of the full extent of the injury, and was quick to add that the defender will remain an important figure off the pitch while he recovers.

"He is going to be a huge loss, but he is still going to be so important to the team being around the place and he is still going to be the captain of the team," Cohen told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

"Unfortunately for us as a team we have lost an incredibly important part of Lincoln City."