Ryan Lowe chose to substitute off Will Aimson during the 88th minute of Plymouth's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea U21s last night in the Leasing.com trophy, and the manager revealed post match his reason behind doing so.

Lowe said: "So we have had to manage him again now in terms of not putting much loads through him.

“But I thought he was great first half, second half he was okay. In terms of getting him off the pitch before anything happened, he was just absolutely shattered."

Aimson has been carrying a pelvic injury from last season, picked up while a promotion winner with former side Bury and incidentally managed by Lowe.

The 25 year-old was making his first appearance for the Pilgrims since 12th October after going off in the 1-1 draw with Swindon Town, and has been an unused substitute in Plymouth's last three games.

Plymouth fans had reason to be concerned with Aimson's substitution after the centre-back received treatment from Plymouth physio Paul Atkinson, before being taken off by Lowe.

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Aimson started in a back three with Gary Sawyer and Scott Wootton on the outside of him in the 1-0 defeat, and the Pilgrims defence conceded after the former Bury man had gone off, with Jon Russell slotting in from a pull-back three minutes into injury time.

Aimson has been on the books of Eastleigh, Hull City, Tamworth, Tranmere Rovers, Blackpool and Bury during his career so far.

The Verdict

Lowe was right to take off Aimson towards the end with the centre-back not long having recovered from his recent injury.

Aimson showed his worth to Plymouth last night as his defensive performance again proved the depth in defence that Lowe has to choose from, and the 25 year-old will again have proven his fitness to his manager despite tiring towards the end.