Swindon Town have been handed a significant boost ahead of the weekend with influential midfielder Jack Payne available for selection.
Payne has been missing from action with a knee injury since early January, with the playmaker's rehab stepping up a notch over the last couple of weeks.
As a result, he will be in the matchday squad for Town on Saturday as they prepare to take on Bradford City at Valley Parade (3pm Kick-Off).
"Jack Payne has had a really good week and he will come back into the squad, which is really great," Town Head Coach Ben Garner said at his pre-match conference earlier today.
"He's looked really good this week and that has been a big positive for us, so we're really, really pleased with that.
"Unfortunately, Louie Barry injured his ankle last week and he won't available for this weekend.
"We'll monitor that moving forwards.
"Harry McKirdy is fine and we'll probably need to get an injection into that ankle at some point and give it a little bit of a rest, but at the moment he can manage that and he can continue playing.
"We'll do that as long as we can and find the right time to give him that injection.
"We've got good options and we've still got good depth within the squad and quality there we can call upon, and hopefully we can get Louie back as soon as possible because it would have been lovely to have Jack back this weekend and Louie Barry and we're starting to get real competition in the squad.
"That's not the case and we'll get him back as quickly as we possibly can and try and be as strong as we can in this final stage of the season."
And Garner went on to detail just what a big boost for the Reds it will be to have Payne back available on Saturday against The Bantams.
"I think every player is different and they all have their own different strengths and attributes to the group, and Jack has been brilliant for us this season," Garner continued.
"I always liked him as a player from afar, but what really impressed me from walking into the door was his professionalism, his attitude and he really is top class.
"He's a big driver within our group so any team in League Two would miss Jack Payne.
"I'm really pleased to have him back and I think he'll play a huge, huge role for us now in the run in to the end of the season."
