We’ll make a late fitness check on Paul Osew ahead of tomorrow’s League Two match at Bradford City.
Osew was replaced by Lee Brown after only 24 minutes of the midweek Trophy victory over Crawley Town. Fellow defender Chris Gunter is away on international duty with Wales, while forward Nathan Young-Coombes (knee) is sidelined for a “lengthy period”. Johnnie Jackson gave a fitness update after Thursday’s training session.
“Paul Osew came off in the week with an ankle injury,” said Johnnie. “We’re assessing him closely. It’s touch and go, so it’ll be a late call on whether he can be involved at the weekend.”
“With Chris Gunter being out, we looked at a couple of things down that right side on Tuesday night. There were things that came out of that game that gave me food for thought. It’s an area we’ll be looking to fill, obviously.”
The Manager also provided us with the latest on a trio of other players who will miss the trip to West Yorkshire, with Paul Kalambayi (right knee) looking the closest to making a return.
“I think it’s fair to say to say that ‘PK’ would probably have found himself getting opportunities over the last few weeks,” said Johnnie. “Unfortunately, we’ve not been able to use him because of the injury he sustained, but he’s getting closer and was out running on the pitch and working with the ball.
“We’re really keen to get Alex Woodyard (right calf) back with the group. It’s been a long time coming. The fact that he is getting closer is great, but we can’t just throw him in after he’s been out for so long. It’s important that we manage his return to training, as well as his return to action, but also, we need him back as quickly as possible.
“Nathan Broome has had a fracture to the foot. It’s great that he’s out of the protective boot and he is doing movement and little bits of handling with ‘Bayzo’, but he’s had an injury. The real test for him will be when there’s impact and he has to kick the ball again, but he’s going in the right direction and hopefully not too much longer.”
As for the game at the University of Bradford Stadium, Johnnie is very much looking forward to the occasion, where our former boss Glyn Hodges will be in the opposing dugout as Bradford’s Assistant Manager.
“Bradford have started the season well,” said Johnnie. “It’s a big stadium with really good home support, so it’s a tough place to go. They’ve got a manager in Mark Hughes who has managed at the highest level, they’ve got a lot of experience, but for us it’s a game that we should be relishing.
“For myself, I’ll be going up against someone who has played and managed in the Premier League. For the boys, they’ll be up against a side in good form and playing in a stadium that’s hosted topflight football and with a big crowd, so it should be one to relish.”
You can see an extensive interview with Johnnie Jackson below, via the link to our official YouTube channel.