Bristol Rovers have received a double injury boost with the news that both Luke McCormick and Grant Ward are expected to play a part in the Good Friday clash away at relegation-threatened Port Vale.
Ex-Blackpool midfielder Ward has appeared for the Gas 15 times this season, scoring one goal. Nevertheless, he’s only appeared once in League One since New Year’s Day in the 0-0 draw at Fleetwood Town. The 29-year-old had a two-month injury lay-off, having gone off against Championship side Norwich City in the FA Cup in early January.
25-year-old McCormick has had just as tough a time as his fellow midfielder, appearing merely 11 times for the mid-table third-tier side whilst scoring twice. He last played a part during the 1-0 defeat to Exeter City at the end of January and has been out injured since.
Head coach Matt Taylor confirmed the duo are back in training and could be in contention to start tomorrow afternoon [quotes via Bristol World]:
“Grant Ward has got over that issue which kept him out of the Lincoln game and he has had a couple more days training, so he will be in contention.
“Whatever it was has settled down.
“We didn’t feel that it was serious at the time, but the history and experience of the medical staff have got with Grant, probably made us make that decision to leave him out of that Lincoln defeat. You want all of your players available at every opportunity, but it was a little bit of an extra kick in the gut.”
“He returned and he was back and the fans and ourselves were getting excited and you were thinking right what is next, more game time, more minutes and all of sudden it was taken away from us, so hopefully it’s the second return and he stays put for a fair bit longer.”
Speaking about McCormick he added:
“McCormick is back in full training.
“He has had this international break to train with ourselves, so he has had four or five days of proper training and he looks bright.”
“Hopefully the stiffness and problem he has had in his back will continue to subside.
“We saw him for a brief period post-Christmas and hopefully we will see him stay available for a little bit longer than previous and maybe in a slightly higher role as well.”
Since being promoted from League Two in the 2021-22 season, Bristol Rovers have stabilised in League One. In the previous campaign, they finished in 17th position and currently sit in 14th. The Gas are 14 points off the play-offs and 13 off the drop-zone, not good enough to go up but too good to go down.
Rovers now face an interesting Easter weekend as they travel to relegation-threatened Port Vale on Friday before hosting fellow mid-table side Shrewsbury Town on Monday.
Writer’s View
This is a timely boost for Bristol Rovers. With just nine games remaining, we are at the business end of the season. Whilst the play-offs do seem a bridge too far, a good run could set them up nicely for next season.
The Gas have an extremely bright future with two internationals amongst their ranks in Jed Ward and Luca Hoole, both representing England and Wales U21s respectively. They can spot a good loan as well. Matt Cox and Brandon Aguilera, on loan from Premier League sides Brentford and Nottingham Forest, have represented England and Costa Rica at U21s as well.
