Defenders Cheye Alexander and Ben Heneghan have both made the trip to Home Park for tonight’s League One meeting with Plymouth Argyle.
Alexander (pictured) has recovered from a bug and took part in Monday’s training session. Heneghan, who took a knock and rolled his ankle in training before our recent home game with Doncaster, was able to work outside with physio Tim Maynard.
“Cheye trained, so he’s part of the squad,” said Assistant Head Coach Rob Tuvey before boarding the coach to Devon. “Ben is travelling, but Plymouth may come too soon for him. He’ll be doing some work with us though, to make sure he’s ready for Saturday if needed as well.
“Anthony Hartigan is another option. He had his first bit of contact at the weekend, having recovered from his shoulder injury. He came on for 20 minutes at Wigan and we can increase that now. He’s available to start, if needed.”
You can see Ben Heneghan's progress with Tim Maynard below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.
Defender Henry Lawrence and forward Aaron Pressley - both recovering from hamstring injuries - have returned to their parent clubs for this week. On-loan Chelsea full-back Lawrence has more chance of being available for this weekend’s home game against Lincoln City.
“Henry is having a full week’s training. He’s not travelling with the squad, but he’s going to stay with Chelsea and work with them from Monday to Thursday, and then he’ll be back in with us on Friday. We’re hopeful that if he can get through this week, then he’ll be available for the bench on Saturday.
“Aaron was due to see a specialist on Monday, so we’re hopeful that goes well. It’s just precautionary that he sees a specialist and we’re thinking about two to three weeks for Aaron. Hopefully we can get him back because he’s been unlucky with that injury. We’ve watched it back and it’s something out of nothing with how it happened. He’s back with Brentford at the moment, but he’ll be back with us next week to finish off his rehab.
“Egli Kaja will have a full week’s training, as he recovers from his calf injury. He’ll stay behind and work with the guys at our training ground with a view to being available for selection, if needed, on Saturday.”
We lost 1-0 in this fixture just under a year ago, on an afternoon when Head Coach Mark Robinson was left frustrated at our inability to apply the finishing touches to all of our possession.
“We lost two games over that Easter weekend,” said Rob. “We’re probably in a similar sort of situation again, as we had spoken about finding that edge when we went there last year. We had great build-up play, but we lacked that cutting edge. I think that’s where we’re at now.
“We’re starting to see signs of us progressing up the pitch and it’s about what we do in that final third. We’re very aware of where we need to get to and how we try and get there. I think it’s about making players aware of the opportunities to get the ball into the box slightly earlier.”
Listen to Rob Tuvey’s full preview of tonight’s game at Plymouth below, via the video link to our official YouTube channel.