The defender injured his knee in training on Monday, sparking fears he could be sidelined for at least a month.

Scans on the problem have painted a more positive outlook for Neill, who has been appointed the club's new captain.

"Lucas unfortunately twisted his knee when blocking a shot in training, and at first we feared that he may have suffered significant damage to his medial ligament," head of physiotherapy George Cooper told the club's official website.

"However, the scan results are far better than predicted and show that there is more damage to the muscles around the knee than the actual medial ligament itself, which has actually sustained only very, very minor damage.

"He has already made fantastic progress since sustaining the injury and will definitely be back in action inside a month.

"He is now working hard alongside Scotty Parker, who is also making excellent progress from his knee injury, and the two of them are really pushing each other, so I'm certain we will see them back in action very soon."