Iron boosted by return of trio ahead of Newport trip

The Iron will be boosted by the returns to contention of captain Harry Davis, midfielder Harry Bunn and striker Ryan Loft for the away match at Newport County on Saturday.

Davis has missed the last two games following a head injury which required stitches against Exeter, while Bunn also sat out the last two matches through a hamstring problem. Meanwhile, Loft was out for almost two months with a cheekbone injury sustained in the second league game of the season against Rochdale.

"Lofty is back in contention this week after a good week's training, which is good news for us, while Bunny is back as well after being injured, which is a plus as he's an experienced player," first team manager Neil Cox told iFollow Iron.

"Harry Davis is fully fit and trained today, doing really well after coming through from some bad stitches. So they're all in contention, which is good.

"We just have to be careful with Lofty, as he's not played since the away game at Rochdale, but he's been able to do some work on the training pitch, wearing a mask. As people will see, it's a bit of an awkward one he has to wear, and not the usual way they put it on, but we'll have a look. He's been able to come through training really well, and had a few clashes with other people in the penalty areas, which has tested it and brought confidence.

"Jarvo (fellow striker Aaron Jarvis) has stepped up to his role at the moment and has been doing really well. He just has to make sure he keeps doing his extra work after training, as he's been out for a long time prior, and we need to look after his hamstring, but he's shown what he can do and long may that continue."

In terms of fresh injuries, right-back/midfielder Tom Pugh and striker Tyrone O'Neill will sit out this weekend.

Cox said: "This week, Pughy will miss out with a dead leg still, having not trained this week, while Tyrone will miss out too as he's still struggling with the dead leg he had. We'll be careful with him and he'll stay back and do some extra work at home, but he should be back training next week. It's a whack he's taken on Monday, in an area that keeps flaring up. It always seems to be in the same place at the moment, so we need to get that bruising down before he's fully fit."

The boss also provided an update on midfielder Alex Kenyon, who has missed out since the third game of the season and has had another tear on his thigh.

He added: "Alex will be out for a little while, with a tear in his thigh. It's a matter of getting him sorted out, with a couple of injections in it, but we'll let that settle down and get him back on the training ground, and see how long he'll be after that."

Talking about the threat Michael Flynn's Exiles will pose, the boss added: "Newport will try and play in a 3-5-2 or 3-4-1-2 with a 'No 10'. They will be open but they will be excellent at set-plays, causing lots of problems with long throws into the box too. We need to make sure we defend properly, pick up lots of second balls and be brave in possession.

"Their pitch is a little bit better at the moment, as they do have rugby played on it as well. They'll try and play and we'll have make sure we're on top of them, closing people down, and when we get the option to pass make sure we pass it well."

See much more from Neil Cox and Jake Scrimshaw on iFollow Iron.