Iron manager Stuart McCall was delighted to report Matthew Lund will be available for this weekend’s League One away trip to Doncaster Rovers.
He was fearful he’d be without the midfielder for a period of time, with the midfielder due to go for a scan earlier in the week.
However, McCall explained to iFollow Iron: “He was showing the symptoms of a cartilage injury following the away game at Shrewsbury and has had it shaved before. After the game on Saturday we expected it to be sorer and we thought he was going to go for a scan on Monday to see the damage.
“Michael (McBride, head of medical services) told us there wouldn’t be any more damage if he played last Saturday. It must have been something else anyway because he came in on Monday and hadn’t had any reaction, and has trained all week pain-free. He’s fine, which is surprising, but again it’s good.
“He’s been unfortunate since he’s been with us. His foot was like a balloon for a fortnight at one stage but he played a game with it like that. He’s not been fully fit for a lot of the games but he’s that type of character and just wants to play. I was trying to protect him on Saturday (by bringing him off) and we thought he’d have a reaction, but it was a surprising positive one, which is great for us.”
Meanwhile, though this weekend’s game will be too soon for the pair, Jordan Clarke (shoulder) and Funso Ojo (hamstring) have stepped up their returns to training.
Elsewhere, goalkeeper Matt Gilks has gone up from two days to three days on the grass as he looks to return from a long-term knee injury.
McCall added: “We have Jordan and Funso back on the grass, which lifts us. Gillo (Matt Gilks) is out there too joining in the five-a-sides and eight-a-sides. The better players that are out there training, the quality of training rises. It won’t be long before Jordan and Funso are back available. Gillo is still going to plan, and he’s back joining in with all the lads now rather than just the goalkeepers. It’s the natural progression.
“Ryan (Colclough) has been in too and it’s been good to see him. He’s been getting physio on his knee following his operation which went successfully.”
Speaking about the week just gone and the challenge ahead at Doncaster, who sit seventh in the League One table, he said: “Monday was about getting the lads back up and their heads on it. We obviously had some strong words after the Gillingham game. It wasn’t a lack of effort but I thought we were a little bit flat and lacklustre in the first half. Then we lost two goals in a short period of time, and not for the first time this season. We have to stop doing that.
“We’re looking forward to going and putting in a performance that can get us a result. We’re up against a real in-form side in Doncaster. Obviously, we’re lacking a little bit of confidence at the minute, with the results we’ve had of late. Again, it’s the next chance to get three points and start climbing the table. It’s a tough game but we’ve got to focus on ourselves, and we need to up our level of performance. We’ve hit it a few times but not consistently enough. There have been reasons for that and factors behind it, but we all have to up our game. If we can get be as good as we can be, we’ll give them a right game. We’ll have enough players on that park who are experienced enough and have the quality, they just need to bring their best game to the table.”
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