Jordan Rossiter poised for Fleetwood Town return after a year out injured

There are no new injury concerns for the Cod Army and they may have one boost in particular.

Though he has been close to making a return for a little while, Jordan Rossiter may make his first Town appearance in almost a year.

The knee injury picked up against Tranmere Rovers last November ended the midfielder’s season-long loan from Rangers, though the Liverpudlian joined Fleetwood on a one-year contract in August

Head Barton hasn’t confirmed whether Rossiter, 23, will play today but expects to see him involved imminently.

Barton said: “The lads are doing all right. We’ve got a few who have played a lot of games and we’ve had a huge spike in the load, so we’ll have to monitor that in the build-up to the game. We’ve got pretty much everybody there.

“We’re hoping to have Jordan Rossiter back involved, if not Saturday then Tuesday night against Sunderland.

“As I said on record at the time, I thought he was our best player and could have won some of the club awards. Up until his injury I thought he was outstanding.

“He’ll be an enormous bonus for us coming back.

“You see him working every day in the gym, training tirelessly and putting in the extra to overcome what is a serious injury.

“I’ll be really pleased if we can get him back involved on Saturday.

“I’m not quite sure if we can do that but hopefully he can be involved against Sunderland.”

The trip to Hull is the first of two cup ties in four days for Town, whose home clash with Sunderland will determined which of them wins their EFL Trophy group (both have qualified).

The league is Barton’s priority but he sees the cups as a welcome distraction from the fast-paced league schedule. The Town boss will look to rotate his side in the coming games and give chances to those short of game-time.

“Cup football brings opportunity for people,” he said. “It will probably be people that have been kicking their heels a little bit in recent weeks and young players who are wanting to show us what they can do in our first team.

“I don’t expect to make lots of changes because it’s the FA Cup. We know Hull will be strong whatever XI they go with. They’ve got a talented group there.

“From our perspective we want to progress. It’s the FA Cup and you only get one chance every year.

“We’ll pick a side that’s fit and ready to go to win a game of football.”