Joey Barton fears Bristol Rovers midfielder Jordan Rossiter will not play again this season due to a knee injury, but centre-half Lewis Gibson is closing in on a return.
Rossiter has not played since December after tearing his meniscus in a EFL Trophy tie against MK Dons and he has since had a pair of operations in hope of getting him back on the pitch before the end of the campaign.
But after suffering a setback earlier this month, undergoing a procedure to alleviate swelling, the ball-winning central midfielder – a star performer when he has been available – remains on crutches. Still, Rovers were hopeful he could recover to play a part in the run-in, but in the aftermath of Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Burton Albion at the Mem, Barton revealed it looks like the 25-year-old's season is done.
Fortunately for Rovers, there is better news regarding Gibson's return from a thigh issue. He trained alongside his teammates at the back end of last week, and Barton believes he could be involved in Saturday's League One trip to Oxford United – a clash of two teams in dire form.
"Jordy Rossiter looks like he is going to miss the season," Barton said in his post-match press conference. "Lewis Gibson, hopefully, is on the mend and should come back into the squad all being well for next week, which I think will really help us.
"We have just got to keep battling and scrapping through. Gasheads, they know, this club has been through a lot of turmoil, certainly in the time I’ve been here and a lot longer beyond that and they are well versed in tough moments. This is one of them.
"But I spoke to the lads in there and said, 'Look, this is not something like Nick (Anderton) is facing that is out of his control and is in the lap of the gods or the doctors. This is something that is absolutely in our control’.
"So there will be no sulking from us, no excuses. We’ll be back on the training pitch and ready to rock and roll at Oxford next Saturday."
Rovers lost just one of the past 11 games Rossiter has started and his skill set is unique to Barton's squad, with a magnetic attraction to second balls and an ability to force turnovers in midfield that lead to big opportunities for the likes of Aaron Collins and Antony Evans to thrive in transition.
In the 11 games he has missed so far, Rovers have lost seven and their performance levels have dipped in each third of the pitch, such is the all-around impact he is capable of when fit.
Gibson's return, however, would be a significant boost. Like Rossiter, he has faced an injury-hit season, but the Everton loanee has been among Rovers' most reliable players when he has been on the park.
He has not played since the New Year's Day win over Cheltenham Town and the Gas have been noticeably more chaotic in defence without the 22-year-old, who has made 17 league appearances this season.
The Gas, of course, will have to manage his body carefully when he is given the green light to play again due to his struggles with injuries over the past couple of seasons, but his return should not only upgrade the backline but also help them in build-up phases with his composed play on the ball, which was desperately lacking in the Burton loss.
Rather than optimistically looking up the table, Gasheads' attention has turned to breaking through the 50-point barrier which should lead to another season in the third tier, and Barton is under no illusions about the slump Rovers are in – but he says he and many of his players have come through worse moments and he is sure the Gas will "get their act together".
"In League Two, we had that and we had to work our way through it and earn that support," he said. "It’s up to us to keep the fans with the team. That comes from endeavour and effort, but you can see we are not coming up short for that. It’s just not going the way it normally does.
"It just feels like everything that can go wrong is going wrong. If it’s not retrospective bans by the FA or refereeing decisions, it’s illness running through the camp.
"It’s football and I’ve been in it for a long time. There are ebbs and flows. This is a tough moment for us, but we have made it through a lot tougher spots than this.
"Luckily for us, we had a great spell in the middle part of the season and we got a lot of points on the board. At his moment, we’re not putting enough points on the board and we need to get our act together."
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