Colchester United's Harry Anderson has become a father again after his partner Holly gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday.

What happened?

The skilful winger, who made 36 league and cup appearances for the U's last season, was given an extra day off by manager Danny Cowley to help with the new arrival. Anderson, 29, is now expected to report back for pre-season duty tomorrow.

Why it matters for Colchester

The news comes as Colchester United prepare for the new season, having finished 12th in League Two with 66 points from 46 games, and 21 points behind leaders Bromley. The team has recently seen several first-team regulars leave, including Kyreece Lisbie, Owura Edwards, and Matt Macey.

What comes next?

Colchester boss Danny Cowley said: “I must mention Harry and his partner, Holly. Holly gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday. Harry was desperate to come back into training today but we gave him another day, to help Holly out and look after their baby.” The team is also hopeful of re-signing Kane Vincent-Young, who is currently training with the team but has not yet put pen to paper on a new deal. With a recent form of 2W-0D-3L, Colchester will be looking to build on their last result, a 4-1 win over Cheltenham on 2026-05-02, as they head into the new season with 62 goals scored and 49 conceded, giving them a +13 goal difference.