Former West Ham midfielder to miss rest of season for Crawley Town with ankle problem
He is due to have surgery next week from which it is expected to be unavailable for four to six weeks.
Payne, 28, has made 27 starts this season in all competitions plus three appearances as substitute, scoring one goal and has made 77 in total (plus 24 as sub), scoring seven goals since joining the club in 2016.
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The former West Ham player joins long-term victims Jimmy Smith and Luke Gambin on Reds' injury list.
Reds’ head coach Gabriele Cioffi revealed: “It is a long-term problem Josh has with his ankle and means he will be out for the rest of the season.
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Hide Ad“I feel injuries have broken our momentum this season as we had our captain Jimmy Smith out with an ACL then Filipe Morais was out for eight weeks when he was at the peak of his performance with a hand injury.
“Luke Gambin is also out with an injury affecting the nerve on his quad.”
Ibrahim Meite will also miss Saturday’s visit to Morecambe serving the second of a three-game ban following his sending-off against Crewe.