TEAM NEWS AHEAD OF EXETER CLASH
Michael Appleton provided an update on the fitness of a number of players at his news conference before of Tuesday’s encounter against Exeter City at The Valley.
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On the return of Scott Fraser and Nathan Asiimwe to the squad for Saturday’s game against Shrewsbury Town…
“They both worked out again today.” It was good to see them receive some time. Scott had obviously been out for a bit longer than Nathan, and I believe he needed it – you could see after speaking with him afterwards that he certainly needed those minutes, so it was good for everyone.
“This year, Nathan has been out a little less and played more games, so it was a little easier for him.” They both trained without incident today, and we want to maintain them as fit as possible.”
Terry Taylor, who was injured on Saturday…
“Terry went for a scan today.” The original concern was his ankle, since he rolled it early in the game and then went knee-to-knee with one of their guys later, so he was pretty hurting in a couple of places. I believe the biggest difficulty was the ankle. We don’t know how long he’ll be out, but we do know he’ll be out for a while.”
On when Panutche Camará may return from his foot injury…
“It’s difficult to put into words. He’s been on the grass for the last three or four days. He hasn’t been with the group, but he has spent time on the grass with the physio and sports science guys. If I’m being honest, it’s nice to see him returning with boots on because his injury is extremely severe. He’s gone back on the grass, wearing his boots, and hasn’t had any severe reactions, so hopefully that’s a good sign.”
On additional injury concerns following Saturday’s game…
“There were a few bruised bodies on Saturday; it turned out to be a physical game.” We have one or two guys whom we will give some time over the next 24 hours before making any major choices. There will be a few of 50/50 bets for tomorrow. Hopefully, they’ll be on the right track and there won’t be too many adjustments.”
On whether Chuks Aneke will be in a position to start games…
“I spoke with Chuks about starting on the second day of my employment.” To be fair, he gave me sincere and honest replies when I asked him a few questions. That appeals to me, and I believe we have an excellent working connection. There will be occasions when his duty will be to start and attempt to get us a footing in the game and get us playing in the opposition’s half, rather than, like we did on Saturday, getting caught overplaying a little bit – playing square, backwards, and slow. I’ll keep everyone waiting on that, whether it’s tomorrow night or not.”
