ALLOA ATHLETIC will be without one of their key players for their upcoming Premier Sports Cup group stage campaign.

Midfielder Miko Virtanen has suffered a broken toe during Alloa’s pre-season campaign, which has seen him absent from their last two games.

The Finnish 25-year-old did not feature for the friendlies against Falkirk and Greenock Morton, with Andy Graham now confirming his injury will likely rule him out of the League Cup group stages, which kick off on Tuesday, July 16 for Alloa.

“Miko’s unfortunately broken his toe which is a blow for us,” Graham said. “The fracture is right on the join of the toe so it’s not a great one.

“We’re hoping around four, five weeks but with things like that, we need to see how it heals and things.

“Knowing Miko, he’ll want to be back in two weeks – he’s a hardy boy but we need to see how it heals up.

“It’s a blow but if it’s going to happen, it might as well happen now. Hopefully he’ll be back in time for the League campaign starting.”

Alloa’s League Cup campaign kicks off against East Fife a week on Tuesday before carrying on against Brechin, Greenock Morton and St Johnstone.

Virtanen’s injury leaves a gap for Alloa’s central midfield, but luckily it is an area of the pitch Alloa have good numbers in.

Kurtis Roberts and Steven Hetherington will be the two likely to start against East Fife, while cover can be provided by Stefan Scougall, who can drop back if required.