Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough has confirmed that he has additional injury worries ahead of tonight’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy clash against Bradford City.
The Nottinghamshire-based outfit will take a break from their League One antics, where they have enjoyed an excellent start to the season. Back in the third tier for the first time since 2003, Clough’s team have lost just one of their opening five fixtures and currently sit eighth in the table.
Their form is made even more impressive by the number of players they have on the sidelines, a headache which the Stags have had to deal with for the best part of a year. For example, captain Alfie Kilgour has been out of action since the beginning of last season and is yet to return, whilst summer signing Frazer Blake-Tracy has made just one appearance for the club to date.
Mansfield picked up three points against struggling Cambridge United at the weekend but did not come away unscathed. Speaking to Mansfield & Ashfield Chad ahead of tonight’s game, the ex-Burton Albion boss said:
“Everybody that we have available will be involved. We got a few knocks at the weeknd unfortunately.
“Lucas (Akins) felt his hamstring late on, Elliott (Hewitt) got a whack on his knee and one or two others as well.
“Callum Macdonald felt his hamstring in training last week. We would love him to play if he can make it, but he’s 50/50 at the moment.
“If not it will be the usual mix of those who didn’t start on Saturday. Ben Waine and Ben Quinn will play and it will be 45 minutes for the others. We will try and get some of the young lads involved.
“We want to get minutes for those who need it. For Ben Waine and Ben Quinn to continue their time in the first team will be very important.”
Clough went up to issue an update about his stars still on the treatment table, saying:
“It’s so frustrating. We are 5-6 weeks away from having four players back in (Frazer) Blake-Tracy, (George) Maris, (Alfie) Kilgour and (Rhys) Oates. So we just have to try and get through until we have those available. We can’t afford any more injuries.”
Writer’s View
Mansfield have had a frustrating time when it comes to injuries over the past 12 months but continue to perform at a consistently high level. However, Nigel Clough must be wondering if he will ever have a fully fit first team squad to choose from ever again. Tonight’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy game meant that rotation was always likely and the manager won’t be too concerned that the likes of Akins and Hewitt will be unavailable.
Focus will remain on their league exploits and cementing their place in the division this season. With winnable games coming up against Shrewsbury, Northampton and Crawley, Clough could have his eye on the bigger prize and picking up as many points as possible before some of his key stars return to the fold.
Head of Writing