Fleetwood Town boss Barton gives injury update on James Husband Ash Hunter Wes Burns Craig Morgan and James Wallace

Wes Burns, Ash Hunter, Craig Morgan and James Wallace have all trained for Fleetwood Town this week, though boss Joey Barton expects James Husband to miss tomorrow's clash at Bristol Rovers.
Ash HunterAsh Hunter
Ash Hunter

Burns pulled up with a hamstring injury a fortnight ago, while Norwich loanee Husband also picked up a hamstring injury minutes into the following day’s defeat at Luton. Both missed last weekend’s win over Burton Albion at Highbury.

James Wallace has missed the last three games with a calf problem, while skipper Morgan sat out last weekend’s win and Hunter was forced off late in the match.

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But aside from Husband, Barton expects them all to be in contention for Bristol.

He said: “Ash is fine. I think he just had a mix of cramp and frostbite due to the polar conditions on the Fylde coast.

“He has trained every day and barring anything happening between now and kick-off he should be fine.

“You need a couple of days’ training at least before you can be considered for the first team, so we have Morgs, Wes Burns and James Wallace pushing for contention.

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“There will be more faces out there, which is always pleasing because it gives you options with the weekend.”

Barton says Husband is ahead of schedule and could be back next week.

“He is better than we thought he would be,” the Town boss said.

“He will probably miss Saturday’s game. With a busy festive period coming up, it is not fair to put him in the risk category.

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“If he accelerates in the next period, then he has a sniff for Doncaster (on Boxing Day) and those games.”

But Barton will not rush players back and revealed he had spoken to Preston North End about injuries.

He said: “The games come thick and fast, and we want players to be available for as many of them as possible.

“We played PNE in a game on Wednesday and we were chatting with the staff there.

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“They have eight hamstring injuries at the minute, so you are kind of scratching your head. Some of ours are really frustrating but it is the nature of the game when players are playing at huge intensity.

“I know Alex (Neil, Preston boss) wants the team to press and that puts a strain on their bodies. Some players can deal with it because they are robust and they can physically deal with the exertions expected of them.

“Some really struggle. It is just a case of monitoring that load and looking after them.

“Part of that is not rushing them back into action before we feel it is a safe to do so.”