DION Donohue will not play for Swindon Town at Salford on Saturday, with Richie Wellens confirming the club has hit a hiccup in the negotiation phase of a fresh contract.

Town snapped up Donohue on a month-by-month basis on October 11 – the day before Plymouth Argyle visited the County Ground in League Two.

His arrival at SN1 came about after he was sacked by Mansfield Town only weeks after he joined the Stags.

His sacking by Mansfield was a direct result of his arrest on suspicion of assault following an incident with two men, which left one requiring treatment in hospital.

Donohue started in all six of Town’s games since he signed for the club.

But an agreement to extend the defender’s contract has been put on hold – with Wellens stating reasons behind the delay will remain in-house.

He added: “He (Dion Donohue) won’t play on Saturday.

“We’ll keep the reasons in-house, but there has been an issue in getting his deal done.

“We’ll keep trying, because we want to keep him. But we’ve hit a hiccup.”

Donohue’s absence could open the door for Tyler Reid to stake his claim for a regular starting spot.

Reid, 22, joined Town on a two-year deal in June following the expiry of his contract at Swansea last season.

The natural right-back has been restricted to just seven appearances this season.

However, with Donohue now out of Wellens’ short-term options and Zeki Fryers still required in the heart of defence, Reid’s time to shine could be imminent.

Wellens said: “Going forward, it’s clear to see he (Tyler Reid) has great intensity and his final product is very good.

“He’s got every attribute to be a very good player.

“He has been an under 23s player for so long that’s it’s taking him that little bit more time to adapt to first team football – sometimes it goes that way.

“We need to be patient with him. He has every attribute to be a great player.”