Matthew Briggs could be a future option for Colchester United as a centre-back, according to boss Kevin Keen.

Briggs, who has played predominantly as a left-back during his career, played at the heart of the U’s defence against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, after coming on as a first-half substitute.

The 24-year-old, who remains the youngest-ever Premier League player after making his Fulham debut at the age of 16 years and 65 days, replaced Tom Eastman following his clash of heads with team-mate Alex Wynter, in the 4-1 defeat.

Briggs played for more than an hour at centre-back in the FA Cup fourth-round tie, having been left on the bench for personal reasons by Keen.

Keen said: “Matthew has had a tough week with things going on in his personal life, so we made a decision there.

“I thought that he did his girlfriend proud.

“He’s played as a centre-back at Fulham and has the attributes to do that, so he could be an option.

“But that’s something we’ll have to look at over the next couple of days.”

Keen said Eastman was eventually withdrawn from the action against Spurs after complaining of feeling unwell following his collision with Wynter.

The U’s centre-half initially returned to the pitch complete with head bandage after receiving treatment for his head gash and made two important blocks, before being replaced by Briggs.

“Tom had stitches – he felt a bit wheezy,” said Keen.

“We were playing Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup and the boy wanted to play.

“But then he said he wasn’t quite right, so we took him off.”

Meanwhile, Keen said young left-back Kane Vincent-Young grew in confidence after a shaky start against Tottenham.

Vincent-Young, who started his career at Spurs before moving to Colchester, made his first start in four months in the FA Cup tie.

Keen added: “I thought it was tough for Kane in the first 20 minutes – everybody could see that.

“But circumstances perhaps made it more difficult than it could have been for him.

“I thought as the game went on, he did really well and showed his ability on the ball.”