Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton hopes to add to his squad before Saturday's visit of Oxford United to the Mem in League One, but he revealed summer signing James Gibbons is facing a spell on the sidelines.
Versatile defender Gibbons has been impressive since joining from Port Vale in June, starting in both of Rovers' league games, but he will be unavailable for Saturday and could miss more time. He played no part in Tuesday's Carabao Cup first round defeat at Crawley Town and has been ruled out for the weekend.
A prolonged absence for the 24-year-old would be a blow for Barton, whose resources are thin while he shows patience before striking in the remaining weeks of the transfer market with confidence he will be rewarded with quality and value. The Gas have made five summer signings and Barton believes he needs up to seven more to get the desired depth in the building.
Gibbons picked up the injury in the 4-0 win at Burton Albion on Saturday and Rovers are yet to learn the extent of the problem.
"We’re not sure yet," Barton said of the issue. "We’re waiting on a scan but it’s looking certainly like it’s going to be longer than a week or two."
Rovers will be boosted by the return of Paul Coutts from suspension, and two hour-long shifts for Sam Finley in the space of four days will stand him in good stead to play the full 90 soon.
Barton also revealed he hopes to make a signing before Saturday's clash against Karl Robinson's Us. The Gas have had the likes of AFC Wimbledon midfielder Luke McCormick, Barnsley winger Luke Thomas and Crystal Palace defensive prospect Jake O'Brien on their radar in recent weeks.
"I’m hoping to get something done this week, but I still think I’m six or seven away and tonight shows that," Barton said. "If you had those bodies in, you could probably rotate a bit and take the steam out of the starting lads after the weekend’s game.
"At this moment in time, we don’t have the luxury and we’re working hard to change that."
Outgoings, clearly, are not the focus for the manager when he wants to make a significant number of signings by the end of the month, but he was asked about the status of the players he informed had no future at the club last week.
He replied: "It’s not my priority at the minute, I’m focused on incomings and guys that are going to contribute to the group.
"Young Jamie Egan’s gone out on loan to Gloucester so that’s good for him and he’ll get some minutes with Manse to kick-start his career.
"Alex Rodman is going to have a decision to make whether he keeps playing or not. If he does, I’m sure he’ll have some options.
"Zain Westbrooke and Trevor Clarke and will be waiting for the phone to ring and leaning on their agents a bit, but my priority is getting boys who can come in and can contribute. That is my focus at this moment in time."
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