Aaron Collins and Jordan Rossiter will undergo late fitness tests on their respective injuries, Bristol Live understands, before Joey Barton can determine if the key Bristol Rovers duo can play against Charlton Athletic.
The pair are considered touch and go for the League One encounter after sustaining injuries in Tuesday night’s 4-1 Papa Johns Trophy victory over MK Dons at the Mem.
The hope is that they can at least travel with the team to London to be further assessed closer to kick-off time and the fact they're technically still under consideration is, in itself, a positive given the concern in the immediate aftermath of the game.
Collins left the field in the opening stages after a challenge from behind and subsequent stamp while he was on the floor, which left the Welshman with stud marks and bad bruising, most notably on his shin.
Although Collins needed the support of two physios to leave the field, hobbling around the perimeter of the pitch and back down the tunnel, he was seen after the game moving more freely and indicated it perhaps wasn’t as bad as first feared.
He also attended a meet and greet with fans, alongside Bobby Thomas, James Belshaw and Luca Hoole at the Rovers club shop on Thursday night.
Barton claimed in his post-match address that Collins was lucky he didn’t end up with a broken leg but with three days rest, Rovers will hope their top scorer is available to take on the Addicks at The Valley.
The consideration for Rovers will be that with the Christmas week on the horizon and three games inside seven days, rushing Collins back could be counter-productive, especially as they can still carry a strong goal threat with Josh Coburn, John Marquis and Harvey Saunders leading the line.
Charlton will certainly be hoping Collins sits the game out with caretaker manager Anthony Hayes branding him, "one of the best young players in the league". Collins has 11 goals and seven assists for the Gas in League One, with only Manchester City's Erling Haaland boasting more goal contributions than his 18 in England's top four divisions.
“In young Collins they have got one of the best young players in this league," Hayes said. "His numbers speak for themselves in terms of creating and scoring goals. He’s somebody we have to be very mindful of.
“But there are some vulnerabilities there as well. We’ve got a lot of threats in attacking positions, so there will be spaces for us to exploit. It’s a case of maximising those opportunities on Saturday.”
It remains unclear if fellow striker Ryan Loft will make his return after suffering muscle spasms last week that has delayed his involvement after injury and illness prior to that. If Loft is declared fit, that could further help ease the pressure on having to play Collins.
In midfield, Rossiter has had to recover from a jarred knee that caused him to leave the field against MK Dons moments before half-time. Rossiter held his hand up for treatment after trying to control a high ball and Barton admitted that there’s an additional concern when a player injures themselves without any impact or opposition players around them.
Unlike Collins, who’s been virtually ever-present since signing for the Gas last summer, Rossiter has experienced hamstring and calf injury issues this season and Rovers will certainly err on the side of caution with the Scouser, to avoid an extended absence for the key midfielder.
With Sam Finley ruled out of the trip to south west London, that could provide Luke McCormick with a first league start since Derby County on October 29 alongside captain Paul Coutts, with the 23-year-old having impressed on Tuesday night.
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