Gaffer accepts that injuries have taken their toll but the squad must "get on with it".
Darren Ferguson was preparing himself to reshuffle his pack ahead of a trip to face lowly Fleetwood Town on Saturday.Ferguson – who today swooped to take promising Sunderland attacker Lynden Gooch on a months loan – saw his Rovers squad suffer badly with injuries before and during last weeks 2-2 draw with Gillingham.
“We’ve got Cameron Stewart who will be out, Andy Butler will be out, Harry Middleton will be out and Nathan Tyson will probably be out,” said Ferguson.
“Tyson’s got half a chance but the other three are going to be out. It stretches the squad a little bit but with Lynden coming in that gives me another body and we just have to get on with it.
“He’s a young lad from Sunderland, he’s a striker that can play anywhere along the front. He plays off both feet, good pace and we think he’s going to be a good addition for us.”
Ferguson was as relieved to see Cameron Stewart escape relatively unscathed as he was with the addition of the USA U21 Gooch who could go straight in to the starting XI to face the Cod Army.
“He’s very lucky, a really lucky boy,” Ferguson said of Stewart.
“If you see the picture of him falling, we were just really relieved – as we were – that it wasn’t something really serious. I think it’s one of relief that he’s okay and whatever time it takes, it takes.
There’s a lot of swelling and stiffness there but we’ll take it day by day and we’re relieved as it could have been a really bad injury.
“He (Gooch) has got a good attitude and comes with a good reputation from Sunderland. Kevin Ball, who I know well, doesn’t suffer fools and wouldn’t have anyone with a bad attitude up there so we know we’re going to get the right work ethic out of him which is important.”
Rovers have not tasted defeat on the road in all competitions since a 2-0 loss to Millwall in late October – a run that stretches back three months – and will look to carry on their good form away from the Keepmoat Stadium when they face Fleetwood.
“They’ve got a newish manager (Steven Pressley) that I know well,” said Ferguson.
“I went to see them on Tuesday, I’ve watched the videos and they’re a very good footballing team, very expansive and they play in a certain way that’s a little unique to this league.
“It’s about us going in and imposing ourselves on them with our formation and making sure that we new have the ball we look after it well.”