Bristol Rovers midfielder Sam Finley is set to miss several weeks through injury, but Joey Barton has been boosted by three players returning to contention.
Finley, who has captained Rovers on several occasions this season, has suffered minor knee ligament damage and faces approximately three weeks on the sidelines.
But his absence will be offset by the imminent return of wingers Sam Nicholson and Luke Thomas and left-back Trevor Clarke.
The latter is back in training and is thought to be a week away from a place in the squad, but Nicholson and Thomas are in contention for Saturday’s clash with Carlisle United at the Mem after shin and ankle issues respectively.
Their return is timely with the pressure on Barton from the terraces at an all-time high after the 3-1 defeat to Swindon Town six days ago.
“Sam Finley, in a tackle which wasn’t given, managed to rumble on in the game, but he’s got a grade one MCL (medial collateral ligament sprain) so that’ll be him for three weeks," Barton said on Friday.
“We’ve had Trevor Clarke, Sammy Nicholson and Luke Thomas back in the group, so they should all come back into contention.
“Trev might be a week too early, but the other two certainly will be pushing if they get through training today to be on the bench and possibly play 20-30 minutes of the game.
“The rough with the smooth a little bit there, and injuries are part and parcel of football.
“We’ve built a squad here that has got competition running right throughout it and at this moment in time we’re relying heavily on the squad because we’ve got, because we’ve got seven or eight first-team players who are not available for selection, but I’m not the only manager in the pyramid who has got that.
“We have to find a solution to play well and give a good performance in our stadium against Carlisle on Saturday.”
Barton will also have centre-half Connor Taylor available for the visit of Carlisle after he was cleared by the medical staff this week.
“We took him off (against Swindon) because we thought it was concussion,” Barton explained. “He went down and had a dizzy spell.
“In the autopsy after that, it wasn’t a concussion, nobody touched him or got near him.
“He had like a panic attack. His heart rate and breathing had become irregular. He’s had it in his career before.
“Forgive me because I’m a football coach and not a surgeon, but it’s something to do with something in his heart that needs burning.
“It’s quite a simple procedure. It doesn’t sound like that, but he’d be out for three weeks to get it.
“He doesn’t need that at this moment in time. He saw the specialist on Wednesday, who gave him the all-clear, so he won’t miss the game because it wasn’t a concussion, albeit we made a concussion sub because he was presenting concussion symptoms.”
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