Luckless loanee Mark Ellis has been ruled out of action for Leyton Orient - after breaking his nose for the second time in less than a month.

The Carlisle United centre-half suffered the injury for the Os against Barrow.

That came just 25 days after he sustained a similar injury for the Blues at Coventry.

Ellis is set to receive treatment - and will not be involved for the Orient in their FA Cup game against Dagenham this weekend.

It is understood the London club had not yet requested Ellis' availability for the first round tie before he suffered the injury.

It remains unclear, then, whether Carlisle would have been willing to grant the centre-half permission to play for his loan club in the competition.

And it leaves open the possibility that he could play for United in the Cup when they enter at the first round stage on the weekend of November 4.

Ellis joined Orient on a two-month loan on September 28 but Carlisle would be able to recall the 29-year-old after the first 28 days.

Orient are currently overseeing his treatment after he was caught by a stray elbow in the 2-2 draw with Barrow last Saturday, his third appearance for the Matchroom Stadium outfit.

“We felt it was a challenge that the referee missed," Orient boss Steve Davis said in the Hackney Gazette.

"We’ll have another look at it, but it looks like he [the Barrow player] caught him with his elbow.

“He’s not eligible [for the FA Cup] anyway, so it will give him time for his nose to be fixed and mend.”

United confirmed to the News & Star that Orient had not yet asked for permission to play Ellis in the cup. "This probably fits in with the fact Mark has picked up this injury," a Blues spokesman said.

Carlisle are another centre-half down with Tom Parkes one game into a four-match ban.

Gary Liddle played alongside Clint Hill against Exeter last weekend and will be favourite to continue in the side at Colchester this Saturday.

Another Blues loanee, teenage keeper Morgan Bacon, has now returned to the Blues after a month-long spell at Evo-Stik Premier leaders Shaw Lane.

Bacon played in United's 4-2 reserve win at Wigan on Tuesday.

With the FA Cup first round draw next Monday, meanwhile, United have permission to play their three loanees - Jack Bonham, Shamal George and James Brown - in the competition.