Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney has confessed Saxon Earley’s loan is something they will ‘have to look at’ if he doesn’t soon get some games.
The 22-year-old has only made two appearances for the Imps this season, both in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. His debut came as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 defeat to Chesterfield, with his most recent appearance being in a 2-1 win against Grimsby Town earlier this month. Earley did well in that game, with an energetic performance.
However, he was absent from the squad for our 3-1 loss to Birmingham City, despite not being reported as having an injury. However, Rooney has suggested the left-sided defender has been carrying an injury, hence his exclusion from the squad in recent weeks.
“We asked a couple of times actually and he had a back injury,” Rooney said of the player’s lack of game time. “Hopefully he gets that right and gets playing because obviously the reason you send players out on loan is to play. If he doesn’t get more game time it’s something maybe we have to look at.”
Earley’s loan was intended to provide him with more regular football after limited opportunities last season with Plymouth Argyle, where he managed just two starts due to persistent ankle injuries.
However, he has joined a Lincoln side packed with quality and is perhaps third or fourth in line for a start at left-wing back. He’s certainly behind Erik Ring and Dom Jeffries, currently vying for the position. It is possible he’s also behind Reeco Hackett, as well as Dylan Duffy yet to come back from his injury.
If he could play left centre-back, which seems unlikely, he’d be behind Sean Roughan and possibly even Lewis Montsma, who has played there this season. Indeed, Earley’s loan seemed to be very much about cover, and that’s how it is panning out.
It does seem like that might not be quite enough for Rooney, although it is interesting to hear him speculating on Earley’s fitness when you’d expect a manager to have their finger on the pulse throughout a player’s loan.
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