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Back in the thick of it
Story courtesy of Glenn Brookes - Burton Mail
Boss John McGinlay has been forced into a return to action for what will be Gresley Rovers' fifth game in eight days against Solihull Borough at Redditch United's ground tonight (Weds 7.45).
The Moat chief last featured when he scored Rovers' goal in the 2-1 home defeat by Bedworth United at the end of February, a calf injury ruling him out of action since.But a mounting injury list and a hectic run of fixtures means McGinlay will be forced to name himself among the substitutes tonight and return to the first team fray earlier then he would have wanted.
Striker Ravi Sangha looks like missing the rest of the season with an ankle injury after he was told he needed to rest after going for an x-ray, while leading scorer Simon Tucker (ankle) and fellow frontman Shaun Bedward (knee) are unlikely to appear tonight.
That means Neil Kitching and Paul Grant look set to start up front, with McGinlay the only other striker available.
Said the Moat boss today: "It looks like I will be forced to return on the bench because of the injuries we have to our strikers. I would have preferred to have had another couple of days to recover and was planning to be available for the weekend but we are struggling."
McGinlay is also without Danny Verity and David Donaldson who are unavailable, while defender Neil Broadhurst is likely to be rested.
Defender Jamie Roberts returns to action after a knee injury, while Andy Cheetham and Dave Kearns have also been drafted into the squad.
"People are dead on their feet at the moment but we just have to get on with it and make the best of it," said McGinlay.
"Solihull are a decent side and really, if they had not had pitch problems and a backlog of fixtures I think they would have been right up there."
Gresley from: Sheils, Roberts, Wardle, Gardner, Forsyth, Warren, Woolley, Cheetham, Kearns, Middleton, Peters, Coates, Grant, Kitching, McGinlay, Tucker, Bedward.
There is some good news for McGinlay with both defender Ian Bluck and striker Kevin Allsop set to feature for the reserves at Ilkeston tonight (7.30) after long lay-offs through injury.
"They should play a part tonight but how long depends on them," said the Moat boss. "But I would like to think they will be back in the first team before the end of the season."
Reserves from: Wright, Evans, Bluck, Lewsley, Pole, Dennis, Bradshaw, Wagstaff, Smith, Allsop, Campbell, Moran, Timms, Norton.
