Manager Paul Hurst has confirmed striker Jamie Proctor is a doubt for the away clash at Walsall on Saturday.
The on-loan frontman aggravated his knee in the warm-up before Tuesday night’s home clash against Oldham Athletic, but went on to play the full 90 minutes.
He will be assessed before the trip to the Banks’s Stadium, which will come too soon for Andy Butler, who has missed the last two games with a foot injury, and also Lee Novak, who has been out since mid-August with an ankle injury.
Hurst told iFollow Iron: “Procs is a doubt. He put in an absolutely great shift and ran himself into the ground. That’s what you want to see from players. The boys did that but it doesn’t stop us demanding the same again on Saturday.
“Andy won’t be fit. He’s back on the training pitch and joined in on Thursday, as did Lee Novak – both as ‘floaters’ in terms of taking part non-contact. Saturday’s game will be too soon for both to come into contention though. I think, because Lee has been out for longer, Bradford might come too soon, so he perhaps could come into contention for the Plymouth game (on October 5th) all being well.
“(Other than Proctor) it’s a case of a lot of tired bodies, which is totally understandable with the stats. We’re trying to look after the players as best we can. I believe it’s about what we do and if we play some of the football we did the other night, we’ll have a good chance (at Walsall).
“We’re looking forward to the game, particularly on the back of two good performances. We go with optimism to a team who also had a good result in midweek, and can hopefully get that first away league win.”
Hurst also provided updates on Levi Sutton and Andy Dales, who played a part in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday.
He said: “They got their first minutes the other day in their returns from injuries, playing a lot of the game, but have paid for that in being stiff and sore on Thursday so won’t realistically be in contention for us.
“We’re still positive they’ve come through and not picked up any injuries or had a recurrence. Each game they play is a step closer to coming into the matchday squad. I would have thought Buts (Butler) could come into contention for next week, and maybe Dalesy and Levi depending on how they return to training.”
Previewing the trip to face Darrell Clarke’s Walsall, who won at Morecambe in midweek to seal a first victory since the opening day of the season, Hurst added: “We’re two clubs who are hoping to have much better seasons than previously, and we’re both trying to change the mentality and feeling around the football clubs.
“I’ve certainly seen signs of progress with ourselves, and after Saturday I hope Darrell has the same, but we want to win this game and certainly extend our run of games unbeaten. There are things they’re good at and other aspects we hope we can exploit with the players we have in our ranks.”
Talking about the draw against Oldham, he continued: “Having watched the game back from Tuesday night, the players put on a very good performance. We went a goal down and that was a little bit unjust in my opinion.
“Then to come back from two goals down showed good character, some good play and the physical stats were through the roof comparing to what we’ve done so far. Some of that was down to how open the game was and how free-flowing it was generally, despite the high number of bookings. That shows the effort the players did put in on the day, and we also played some good football.”
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