LUKE RANKIN was on the sidelines as Alloa secured their first win of the league campaign over Stenhousemuir.

The young striker has been a key player during Alloa’s season so far, confidently leading the line through Alloa’s League Cup group and throughout the season so far.

Rankin was unlucky to miss out on the visit from Stenhousemuir after sustaining an ankle injury in training through the week.

Speaking to Advertiser Sport after the match, Andy Graham confirmed it wasn’t a serious injury and hoped Rankin would be back soon.

“We need to wait and see,” Graham said. “He went to the hospital on Friday morning to check if there was no break – there isn’t.

“He just went over his ankle on the pitch, it’s nothing serious, there was no tackle or anything like that.

“It’s a blow to lose him because he’s been doing really well but we’ve got Conor Sammon who has come in and he’s scored the winning goal.

“He’s worked his socks off and that’s really pleasing for me as a manager because I’ve got guys who are ready to impact the game and they do.”

Sammon scored the only goal of the game as Alloa beat Forth Valley neighbours Stenhousemuir on Saturday.

The Irishman is expected to lead the line for the duration of Rankin’s absence, continuing on with the visit to Annan this weekend.

Rankin joins David Devine on Alloa's injury list as Kurtis Roberts returned to the squad following his absence at Dumbarton.