Bradford City could be facing a major selection headache this weekend after Graham Alexander confirmed a number of players did not train.
The Bantams have had issues in previous weeks due to injuries and last weekend saw Neill Byrne miss their win over Tranmere Rovers due to illness. Right-back Brad Halliday filled in at centre-back at Prenton Park.
Illness spreads across first-team squad
Whilst Byrne has now overcome his illness, it has since spread across the City camp and at least a couple of players had missed out on a scheduled training yesterday and today as a result. Journalist Jamie Raynor confirmed the news via social media following a press conference with the Bradford manager.
He elaborated further in a second post, adding:
“Players will have day off tomorrow and then [Graham Alexander] will assess team selection on Friday, based on who has come through illness and who hasn’t. Says they’ll be prepared for whatever outcome, using Byrne late drop out at Tranmere as example.”
The Yorkshire side welcome Gillingham to Valley Parade, looking to continue their good run of form which saw them enter the League Two play-offs as a result of that win against Tranmere. Mark Bonner’s side have struggled across recent weeks and have lost their last three games in a row.
They have a quick turnaround after the final whistle on Saturday to their next game, facing a struggling Cheltenham Town side in Gloucestershire on Tuesday night. The Robins have slipped down the table to 21st place and failed to make a comeback against Swindon Town in their last game.
Writer’s View
Bradford City looked to have finally found their stride so to lose players to illness will be a big blow to their momentum depending on who will be unavailable this weekend. Neill Byrne being back will be a big help for a side light on central defenders, but if they lose key players elsewhere, then it could stop The Bantams from building upon these results before they could really kick on and push themselves even higher than their current seventh place.
