WANDERERS have confirmed that midfielder Andy Tutte will be out well into the New Year with a serious hamstring injury.

The 30-year-old limped out of a reserve team game against Accrington Stanley last Tuesday at Lostock and underwent scans on the injury, which have confirmed the club’s worst fears.

Evatt said after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat against Rotherham United: “He has got quite a bad one.

“It is actually a grade four hamstring tear, which basically means that the tendon in the hamstring has come off the bone.

“As a result, it looks like it is going to be surgery. And he will be three to four months out.”

Tutte had started just once, in the Papa John’s Trophy, but had been a part of a few matchday squads and is seen as a back-up for defensive midfielder MJ Williams.

Popular behind the scenes at Wanderers, the Liverpudlian has been backed to return stronger by Evatt.

“For now he needs to concentrate on himself, his wellbeing, and get himself fit again,” he said at the end of last week.

“He will be back around the team and the squad soon enough. Being the good professional that he is, we think a lot of him, he has been fantastic on and off the pitch since he came to the club.”

Meanwhile, Evatt says he would like to see referees taking a stronger stance on timewasting after feeling Rotherham United ‘got away’ with slowing the game down unnecessarily on Saturday.

“We’re so reliant on officials to time keep,” he said. “Their keeper had it in his hands over 20 seconds seven times in the second half. Unless they police it, they’re going to keep doing it because they’re trying to win the game.

“That’s no disrespect to them. That’s part of the game - game management, dark arts, whatever you want to call it, is part of the game, but that’s where you’re heavily reliant on officials to stamp it out and today they didn’t.”

At one stage, one of Wanderers’ flag bearers jumped the advertising hoardings to grab the ball and hurry Viktor Johansson along in the second half.

“That is what it came down to,” Evatt said. “It is a frustrating part of the game but unfortunately it is part of the game, so we have to respect it.”

Evatt said his opposite number Paul Warne had been complimentary about the Wanderers players and their application in the second half.

A half-time substitution looked a defensive move from the Millers but Evatt disagreed.

“Not according to their manager,” he said. “They are a front foot, high press team, and he said we just couldn’t do it in the second half. If you looked at some of our third line solutions first half, they went on a press man for man. We recognised it and we played to our third line and got chances from that. We just didn’t take them today.”