Town have been handed a massive boost ahead of their crucial Sky Bet League One fixture against Chesterfield with Lloyd Jones fit and raring to go.
The defender was forced to miss the Reds’ 3-1 success over Gillingham in midweek after picking up a knock during the victory against Coventry City just days before.
However, after scan results showed that there was no long-term or serious damage, Jones returned to full training earlier today and has been given the all-clear to be considered for selection for the clash against The Spireites at The County Ground tomorrow (3pm Kick-Off).
“Lloyd trained fully, he looked very good and he will be available for the game against Chesterfield,” said Head Coach Luke Williams at his pre-match press conference earlier today.
However, Jones faces stiff competition to get back into the Starting XI following Raphael Rossi-Branco’s impressive display on Tuesday evening.
“A decision has been made and the players understand,” Williams added.
“I’ve got to say that both players have been tremendous and they have been professional and they understand the reasons.
“I’m very, very impressed with the pair of them at the moment.”
Williams also heaped praise on Rossi-Branco for the way he bounced back from a first-half mistake against Gillingham to produce a classy showing after the break, which was capped off with a fine header.
“I had words with Raphael at half-time and I was very, very impressed with his response and he accepted the criticism like a real man,” he continued.
“More importantly than that, he answered the question to me of what he’s capable of and he got an assist, he scored and he beat everybody up on the pitch from Gillingham.
“What a fantastic response and what a measure of a man to be able to do that.”
Meanwhile, Yaser Kasim will miss out tomorrow having been hit by a bout of illness while on-loan Chelsea defender Fankaty Dabo is still nursing a minor hamstring injury.
“Yaser has had injury problems compounded by illness, so he’s having a real bad streak at the moment,” Williams said.
“We will get Yaser back to full fitness and he’ll be ready to play his role for the club again.
“Fankaty’s injury is not a serious concern but when you’ve got that much muscle in your leg and you are so tightly put together, then I’m not surprised - he’s incredibly highly-strung!
“I’m sure with the resources that Fankaty can access at Chelsea that he’ll get to the bottom of it very, very quickly.
“He’s been with us and we’ve been in communication with Chelsea - they are very, very much on the ball with their players and they are very concerned immediately with any issues with their player, which is great that there is a personal touch there.
“We will get to the bottom of it very quickly and Chelsea will assist in any way they can.”
