Harry Smith has lost seven kilograms in weight during a bout of illness that has kept him from making his return for Swindon Town.

The striker was handed a three-game suspension following a red card against Barrow AFC after he appeared to swing an elbow at Theo Vassell with Town chasing a 1-0 deficit against The Cumbrians fielding defender Rory Feely in goal.

Due to that, Smith was forced to miss the games against Newport County, Carlisle United, and Port Vale, however, he has still not been able to return to the squad since then.

Following victory over Bristol Rovers in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, Mark Kennedy revealed the extent of the illness that Smith had been dealing with.

He said: “Harry I am really gutted about because we were bitterly disappointed to lose him for his ban, I don’t want to dwell on that anymore because we have dealt with it.

“But it is just our luck at the minute that he got ill a day after his ban finished.

“He has had a viral infection and then he had tonsillitis, he has been very ill and he has lost seven kilos in weight.

“He has had a bad illness, for sure, and the most important thing is that we wish Harry well and we hope that he gets better, number one, and I know that his wife has been ill as well, so our thoughts are with Harry and his wife and his family first and foremost.”

When asked whether Smith was still dealing with illness at the moment or was just being eased back into action having been suffering to that extent, Kennedy was not giving anything away.

He said: “I will tell you more on Thursday.”

Swindon’s luck with injuries has started to improve, having had six senior players out injured at various points during the opening two months of the season, leaving Kennedy with more limited options to pick from.

Rosaire Longelo and Grant Hall were both able to make cameo appearances off the bench against Bristol Rovers, with the wing-back having also been able to play the final ten minutes against Harrogate Town last Saturday.

Kennedy also revealed on Monday that Ollie Clarke and Ryan Delaney had returned to full training as they become closer to being back involved on a matchday, although the head coach was keen to stress that their returns were being controlled.