MORTON manager Dougie Imrie says the club will try to stand by stricken trialist Michael Doyle after the defender suffered what the Cappielow boss describes as a footballer’s worst nightmare.

Free agent Doyle, who featured over 60 times for Ton under Jim Duffy between 2017-19, has been back training with the club for the last fortnight to help maintain his fitness levels as he looks for a new club.

He featured for the second pre-season game running as a second half sub against Annan, only for the appearance to end in agony with a horrendous injury.

Disaster struck little under a minute after he came on as one of nine second half substitutes.

The popular defender suffered what the Tele understands to be a dislocated knee after an awkward landing and collision with Annan forward Tommy Goss.

The injury was so serious it led to the game being abandoned as the player waited on an ambulance.

Imrie, who accompanied Doyle to hospital, says he will do what he can do support the 31-year-old free agent, who now has an uncertain future on and off the park.

He told the Tele: “It’s really unfortunate that the game had to be called off due to the injury that Michael sustained.

“On that note I’m disappointed for the guys who’d come on with him, they’re looking for a chance to impress, but ultimately I just wish Michael a speedy recovery.

“I couldn’t think of anything worse to go through as a footballer to be honest, it’s horrible. I feel for him.

“He’s come in and tried to earn himself a deal, which is something that every player in this squad will have had to do at some point.

“He’s trying to keep himself fit and it’s resulted in him picking up a really serious injury as a result.

“It’s not ideal in the circumstances for us or for him.

“It’s happened at a really horrible time, he’s not getting paid and I really feel for him in that regard because what goes on from here for him nobody knows.

“But we’ll help him in whatever way we can going forward.”

Morton beat the League One side 1-0 in the shortened game, thanks to Calum Waters’ strike midway through the first half.

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The defender got on the end of Darragh O’Connor’s whipped cross to edge his side in front at Galabank.

Ton looked far more slick than they did in their at times clunky performance against Alloa on Saturday.

And Imrie was pleased with what he saw from his side in the first 45 minutes.

He told the Tele: “There’s still things that we still have to work on, but overall I was pleased with the first half performance.

“It was still about getting minutes in the legs, which the team out in the first half managed to do.

“Circumstances obviously dictated unfortunately that the split [in playing time] we wanted to have couldn't happen.

"All of our thoughts go out to Michael.”