Russ Wilcox and the Iron were dealt another blow at the weekend, when Miles Addison was added to the ever-growing list of injuries at the club.
The defender, on loan from Bournemouth, played the full 90 minutes in the 2-1 win over Walsall at the weekend and he developed a problem in the aftermath of the match.Miguel Llera came into the side to replace Addison, playing alongside Niall Canavan, as the Iron advanced to the second round of the competition.
“Miles is on his way back to Bournemouth with a knee injury,” manager Wilcox confirmed to The Iron Player, after the 2-0 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy win over Chesterfield.
“It’s a big disappointment for Miles, because he was just getting himself established in the team.”
Addison had played five times for United since arriving on an initial month-long loan from the Sky Bet Championship side.
“He is a good leader,” Wilcox added. “He has good leadership qualities and it’s a big blow for us.
“He’s gone back to Bournemouth and their physio will assess it and see what needs doing.
“I just know he’s going to be missing for a while but when he is fit I know he is a player I’d certainly like to bring back on board.”
With fellow central defender David Mirfin still out, Wilcox confirmed Addison’s injury was: “the reason behind Andrew Boyce returning from his loan Grimsby.”
Boyce was recalled from the Vanarama Conference side as the squad size continues to decrease and the JPT win saw Luke O’Neill substituted at half-time after going down injured in a nasty clash in the first period. He later left the ground on crutches.
“It’s not looking good,” Wilcox said.
“He was happy to go out to play the second half but we weren’t playing any chances, especially with the list we’ve got at the moment. I still think he will be a doubt for the weekend, if not longer.”
Eddie Nolan missed the JPT clash as well as the weekend win due to a problem and it meant Terry Hawkridge had to fill in a right-back for the rest of the match.
He stated: “It’s disappointing, the list keeps growing. Hopefully Eddie will have a chance of making the weekend, if he doesn’t, we have an issue.
“Terry did well slotting in there in the second half, there was a lot of experience in the back four, which was new from the previous games and they coped with it well and Terry did a good job.
“I can’t think of any other options (to play there on Saturday) at the moment other than Terry.
“It isn’t ideal going to a place like Bristol City. I watched them against Notts County at the weekend and they are a good side. The strength and depth in their squad is scary at times, it looks very good on paper.
“If we show the commitment and endeavour we did against Chesterfield, we’ll give them a tough game.”
Another absentee from the Spireites match was Marcus Williams, with the Iron boss confirming: “Marcus had a tight hamstring so we’re hoping he will be okay for the weekend.”
Current names on the injury list include Sam Slocombe, James Severn, David Syers, David Mirfin and Deon Burton.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s our ninth game in four weeks, which is crazy for small squads like us, the bigger ones can handle it. We have had 14 injuries in games this season compared to five at this stage last year," he stated.
We travel to Bristol City for the sixth game of the league campaign at the weekend and Russ is hopeful there will be no more added to the list.
He added: “We’re down to the barebones and Luke could be missing. We had five on the bench and we’re very stretched and that’s a concern going to a team near the top of the league.
“The lads out there in the last three or four games have done the club proud and we will rest them up to go again at the weekend.”
See much more from Russ Wilcox, and others, on The Iron Player.