Arsenal prospect James Olayinka is poised to return for Northampton Town this weekend as they hunt a play-off place in League Two, as reported by the Northampton Chronicle.
The 19-year-old is in his first Football League loan deal but picked up an injury on his debut against Scunthorpe United. That’s restricted him to the single outing, but after a spell back with the Gunners, he could be available for the clash with Mansfield Town this weekend.
The game sees Keith Curle visit one of his former clubs and the Cobblers boss is delighted to have the youngster back, even if he might not get a full 90 minutes.
“James has ticked all the boxes with Arsenal with his training,” said Curle.
“He trained Saturday, Sunday and Monday so he’s back up with us now. They’ve still got some reservations whether he’s fit and available to be selected to start and play 90 minutes given the length of time he’s been out.
“But we’ve had good communication with Arsenal and they’re happy to hand him over now knowing that he could get 60 minutes on Saturday.”
It’s not all good news for the Cobblers though; defender Shaun McWilliams has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury he picked up on Boxing Day against Crawley.
Our View
Just 12 points separate the top nine in League Two, with four points the difference between ninth and sixth. The Cobblers are currently occupying that sixth place and need all the small victories they can get.
They’ll benefit from Olayinka being back in the side; he’s a stylish player with plenty to offer if he can get up to speed. The one worry is the lack of senior football and now the injury too; it is going to be hard for him to impress too much.
That said, if he is able to hit the ground running then he is going to be a great squad player for them going into the final two months of the season.
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