Bristol Rovers hope James Connolly will make a return to full-contact training within the next 10 days as the defender steps up his return from injury. The 20-year-old centre-back has missed six weeks of action after a stress fracture was discovered in his back.
The former Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers was a key member of Joey Barton's promotion-winning team last season and his absence, compounded by a series of other injuries in defence, has been problematic for the manager. Only two teams in League One have a poorer defensive record than Rovers after 11 games with Barton's makeshift solutions yet to deliver solidity.
However, the injury woes are easing for the Gas with centre-half Lewis Gibson and full-back James Gibbons making their returns to action in midweek. There is optimism about Connolly, too.
"James Connolly is back on the grass and joined in the warm-up with the boys this morning," Barton said at Thursday's pre-match press conference. "He’s not quite joined in with the group in terms of the full-contact stuff.
"He’s been out for six weeks now and he’s going stage by stage. Hopefully, in the next 10 days, he’ll be back doing full contact and joining in with the group and that brings him into the selection dilemma."
While Connolly – who has made five appearances this season, scoring once – will not feature in Saturday's game against Cambridge United, one man who will be back in the fold is winger Harry Anderson. The 25-year-old was given a week off by the manager to overcome a badly bruised foot he suffered at Ipswich Town last month, having played through the pain initially.
"He’s trained this morning and I think he’s come through training fine," Barton said. "We’ll assess him in the morning but he will come back into the matchday squad. He had bruising in his right foot and when the pain medication wore off, it was really gnarly for him. He’s alright."
John Marquis is a doubt for Saturday's visit of Cambridge to the Mem after he was forced off with a knock at half time in Tuesday's EFL Trophy win over Crystal Palace under-21s. Sylvester Jasper, however, is fit to play after a bruising game in midweek when he was on the end of several heavy challenges.
Alfie Kilgour is set to miss out, though. The defender scored the opener for Rovers on Tuesday but an earlier kick to the head left him feeling dizzy at half time. At the time of Barton's press conference, Kilgour had not cleared concussion protocols and he is likely to be sidelined on Saturday.
"He didn’t train today, so he might be out for Saturday and that’s disappointing," Barton said. "I’m not 100 per cent sure on Alf but I think, from what in was told yesterday, Saturday is going to come too soon for him.
"He’s had a bit of a tough spell, gets a goal and gets booted in the head. You’ve got to be careful now with head injuries. When he’s getting dizziness in the dressing room at half time, you have to be very careful with it and if he has to miss Saturday’s game to protect his long-term health, then so be it."
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