Antony Evans, Ryan Loft and Jon Nolan could feature for Bristol Rovers at Stevenage this weekend, Joey Barton says, as the club's injury list continues to shorten.
The likes of Harvey Saunders, Leon Clarke and Alex Rodman have returned from lengthy spells out recently, and several more players are set to follow.
Evans, Rovers' creative talisman, has missed two games since limping off early in the defeat at Oldham Athletic on February 8, but he returned to training on Thursday and could play some part at the Lamex Stadium on Saturday after overcoming a hamstring complaint.
Loft made two appearances after signing for the Gas from Scunthorpe United in early January, but the striker has missed close to a month with a back injury picked up in training.
Nolan, meanwhile, is awaiting his debut as a Rovers player after joining as a free agent on February 1. The midfielder has not played for more than a year after suffering a serious knee injury in his time at Ipswich Town.
But the 29-year-old has stepped up his training programme this week and Rovers manager Barton suggested he could travel for Saturday's game.
"(Antony was) back training today," Barton said. "He’s trained with the group for a short period and gone away and done a bit of extra work.
"I’m hoping he comes back into the fold with no reaction tomorrow and then it puts him back in contention for Saturday’s game.
"We’ve got Ryan Loft who is back in contention to play minutes, Clarkey (Leon Clarke) getting back on the pitch (on Tuesday), so really good signs.
"Jon Nolan’s trained with the group fully today, Ryan Loft’s the same. Loft, for sure (could play). We’ll have to see how they both get through training tomorrow, but they are starting to come back into contention for Saturday’s game.
"The lads are confident and feeling good about themselves. The injury list is clearing up a bit, which is what you want when you’re coming into the last few furlongs of the race. You want options and competition for places and we’ve got that now."
Trevor Clarke has also returned to training after groin surgery and both he and Alfie Kilgour are due back in contention soon.
Junior Brown, meanwhile, continues to receive treatment for a thigh problem and Barton has ruled him out for at least another fortnight.
Josh Grant will also miss the game at Stevenage due to a knee niggle, but the manager is hopeful his trusted utility player will be available soon.
"Josh hasn’t come back on the grass yet," Barton said. "He’s making progress and there are good signs. I’m hoping to get him back on the grass in the early part of next week, but he’s still not back fully integrated with the group."
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