On loan defender Jean-Yves M'Voto faces surgery on a hip injury that looks set to put him out of action until January.

M'Voto, currently on loan at Roots Hall from Sunderland, has been sidelined since September with the problem.

A fall during Blues 0-0 draw with Leeds United at the start September saw the Frenchman pick up the injury.

And now he faces going under knife to remove some loose bone in the hip joint.

M'Voto's loan runs through until the start of next year.

Meanwhile, Blues duo Dougie Freedman and Damian Scannell returned to training today.

Freedman (groin) and Scannell (foot) have been missing for the past fortnight with problems.

But the pair could boost Southend's small squad ahead of the weekend's FA Cup first round clash with Gillingham.