Danny Schofield has expressed his disappointment that midfielder Charlie Lakin will miss the rest of the season for Rovers.
The Burton Albion loanee was forced off during last weekend’s win over AFC Wimbledon and has been told he will be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
Schofield also revealed Jonathan Mitchell and captain Tom Anderson remain doubtful for Saturday’s trip to Salford City.
Schofield on Charlie Lakin:
“Charlie Lakin underwent a scan earlier this week and unfortunately he is going to be out for the rest of the season. It’s a bit of a sickener. The muscle that is attached to the bone high up in his hip became detached ant was just an innocuous action - he went to knock a ball over the top, not a powerful strike, and he just felt something.
“We’re gutted for him and ourselves as a club. He’s come in and been fantastic so we’re really upset about that one.
“He’d not been playing at Burton and he was champing at the bit to play football games. To have this setback, which we all know is part of football, is really upsetting. I’ve spoken to him several times since his injury, just to make sure he’s okay and let him know that we’ll support him. We’ll see what the process is in terms of him doing his rehab here or at Burton or whether we communicate and do it together. Whatever is best for him to get back playing.”
On Jonathan Mitchell:
“Mitch obviously struggled a bit. As he did the injury, he looked as though he would be coming off the pitch because he was writhing in pain a little bit but he managed to carry on.
“He’s not trained since. He’s still sore in that area, albeit there is not a significant amount of damage. We’ll put him down as 50-50 for the game.
“If we have to go with Jake Oram, that’s what we do. I’m due to speak to the physio this afternoon because we have to make a decision on Mitch quickly. Then we’ll see what is out there in terms of the emergency loan market in case we potentially have to go into it.
“But we have to be optimistic about Mitch at this stage.”
On Tom Anderson:
“He is really good. He was taken out as a precaution. I’d probably put him at 50-50 for Saturday. With the potential of him being fit for the rest of the season, I’ve got to make a decision on whether we put Tom back into the fold.”
On Ro-Shaun Williams:
“He has increased his running on the AlterG machine, the anti-gravity running to take the weight off that area. He’s champing at the bit to be back and he’s trying to be back for the Crawley game. Whether that is too soon, we’ll see how he progresses with that.”
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