Margate joint boss Mike Sandmann has described the injury suffered by Tom Wynter as a devastating blow both for the player and the club.

The 28-year-old Gate defender will be out for the rest of the season after snapping his Achilles in the opening 17 minutes of Saturday’s goalless draw at Bognor Regis Town.

He is due to receive an update on his condition on Tuesday, and Gate boss Sandmann said: “Saturday was difficult. We were saying that it was a fantastic performance but it was difficult to feel pleased because of the injury to Tom.

“It’s devastating news for everyone, and particularly Tom because he’s self-employed (as a plumber) and he and his wife have a newborn baby.

“He’s a massive character, on and off the pitch, and it’s no coincidence that our recent run of form has come about since he came back into the side.

“I’ve spoken to him since and he was the usual Tom Wynter, laughing and joking.

“He said ‘Mike you either be like this or you cry’ and that’s typical of him.

“We’ll be doing all we can as a club to support him and I think that goes for the wider football community because everyone knows Tom, he’s just a likeable person.”

Wynter joins Alex Brown, Kane Haysman and James Rogers on the Gate’s long-term injury list and Sandmann says the squad deserve huge credit for the way they dug in at Bognor.

The Blues became the first team to stop the Sussex side scoring in a league game this season despite playing the final 10 minutes one short after defender Tom Mills was sent off for a last-man foul on Jimmy Wild.

Sandmann, whose side are now unbeaten in four Bostik Premier games, said: “They were the best team we’ve played this season but we stopped them getting into their passing rhythm and I thought we edged it in the first half.

“We rode our luck a bit towards the end (of the game) but given everything that happened it was a very good point.”

Margate, who are eighth, host Hornchurch on Tuesday in the first of three successive home matches and there is a chance striker Leroy Lita could be involved.

He has been wearing a hard plaster cast to protect a hand injury but hopes to be able to switch it to a more lightweight version which will enable him to play.