During his pre-match press duties manager Andy Crosby gave an update on injured players which also included positive news about midfielder, Funso Ojo.
The 32-year-old has been out since December but has been working hard on his rehabilitation.
Talking about getting the midfielder back to full fitness, Andy Crosby said:
“Funso is slightly ahead of where he needs to be, he’s such an important player for our group but we have to focus on the availability for the majority of the games going forward. There’s a tendency when your better players are back fit that you want to play them straight away but we’ve got to hold our nerve and make the right decision at the right time and work with the medical department and Funs and put him back in at the right time.
“It’s good to see him back in amongst the group, the medical team and Funs have done a great job because he is ahead of schedule and we are looking at the next couple of weeks for him to start a game.
“He has been a major miss for us. I can’t emphasise his importance to our group enough, not only on the pitch but off it as well, his standards are really high and he demands the best from everyone and wants to be part of a successful team. He was enjoying his football so much, it’ll be a good day when he’s back and can give us 90 minutes.”
In the press conference, it was also confirmed that Uche Ikpeazu who suffered a shoulder injury against Portsmouth, will be out for 10-12 weeks following surgery. The striker joins Mitch Clark and Ben Garrity as the other two longer-term absences from the group.
Andy Crosby also confirmed that James Plant has returned to the grass training without contact and Dan Jones has resumed to full training with the squad.