The Imps will definitely be without keeper George Wickens tomorrow after the former Fulham stopper came off last weekend against Peterborough.
Wickens was withdrawn with a concussion, and as part of the protocols, he will miss this weekend’s game against Wigan Athletic. The keeper recieved a bang in the face midway through the second half, and despite wanting to stay on, was urged off the field by stand-in captain, Adam Jackson.
In his pre-match press conference, head coach Michael Skubala revealed the 22-year-old will play no part against Shaun Maloney’s side, suggesting that Zack Jeacock may well get his first Football League start for the Imps.
“He’s going to miss the weekend, hopefully just one game,” said Michael, who is hoping to grab the club’s fourth victory of the season tomorrow. “We’ve had to follow the concussion protocol, but he’ll be back in training, touch wood. Then we have to follow the procedure next week. All being well, it’s just one game.
“We’re still in protocol mode with the concussion stuff, so he won’t be available for this game. As the days went on, he did his testing, and something flagged up, so we have to follow that, which is right because we need to protect the player.
“It’s good that what happened on Saturday was handled properly. You could see him coming off the pitch for the right reasons. It’s disappointing to lose him because he was doing well, but that’s why we’ve got players ready to come off the bench and take his spot.”
Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Rob Makepeace, Michael was asked if former Birmingham City keeper Jeacock would get the nod. “We’re deciding between him and Jamie (Pardington). They’re both close, so we’re working out who’s first. Zach came off the bench, but Jamie is in the mix as well. We’re still deciding on that along with the rest of the team.
“Both Jamie and Zach know they could have an opportunity to play. George has obviously grabbed his chance to be number one and has been doing really well for us.”
When quizzed on other possible injuries, another doubt was revealed. We already know Ethan Hamilton will miss out, although he is on the grass currently, while Reeco Hackett will also not player. However, it has now emerged that JJ McKiernan, recently away on international duty with Northern Ireland Under 21s, has been ill and is also a doubt.
“JJ hasn’t trained today (Thursday), and I’m not sure about tomorrow. He might be a doubt because he’s quite ill. It’s probably going to be a late decision on whether he makes the squad or not, but everyone else is available, except Hammo, who’s on the grass with us.”
The Imps face Wigan with the defeat they inflicted on us in April still fresh in the mind. That game, the one I always remembered for an assistant referee’s guess, severely damaged our play-off push, and was the second of two really challenging encounters with Maloney’s side.
They’ll be no less of a threat tomorrow, equal to Posh at the weekend making it a huge after for Jeacock.
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