The games come thick and fast for the Imps, and they certainly don’t get any easier, either.
This weekend, we’re at the John Smith’s Stadium for a trip to promotion hopefuls Huddersfield, and it promises to be a challenge. We haven’t actually lost on the ground in 20 years, and even then, it took the worst offside decision of all time to defeat us.
That said, we’ve only been there twice since 2004 – Harry Anderson scoring as we beat them in the League Cup, just before they nicked King Danny, and in the 2004 play-offs when an Andy Booth dive cost us a place in the final, and Kevin Ellison ended up lumping a fan who approached him at the final whistle.
Happy days.
If we’re to keep up the proud, if slightly distorted record, will will do so with a handful of first team players. Much of the recent focus was on Tom Bayliss and Tyler Walker coming back, but what of Adam Jackson, Tom Hamer, and Saxon Earley? Michael Skubala addressed the situation of all three in his pre-match press conference this week.
Adam Jackson
Adam Jackson has been out since Rotherham away, his first game back after a previous injury. He was assaulted by Hakeeb Odoffin in that game and sustained a broken eye socket, and Michael admitted he wouldn’t be available for a while.
“He’s still struggling with his face, so he won’t be available for the foreseeable future. He’s getting better, he’s on the mend, but we won’t see him for a while. When it comes to that, I guess he can do some fitness work and continue that. It’s just the day-to-day contact and training. It’s about getting contact on the face again, which, as you know, caused serious damage.
“That’s why you sometimes see players wearing masks. Hopefully, we’ll get him back on the grass training, probably with a mask on, and then, sooner rather than later, try to get him back into contention for the team.”
Tom Hamer
Tom Hamer is another long-term absentee, forced off after scoring against Northampton on October 29th. Hamer was settling into the side nicely, but he’s recently been pictured on social media wearing a pot on his leg, and doesn’t look like he’ll be back soon.
Michael confirmed that when chatting to BBC Radio Lincolnshire’s Rob Makepeace.
“He’s progressing well, but he’s still a lot further down the line. It’s probably still a couple of months off because it’s a big one. But he’s doing really well. He’s been fantastic in the gym, and his rehab is going as well as we can hope because of the effort he’s putting in. He’s been fantastic in his rehab, but it’s still a way off.”
Saxon Earley
Saxon Earley was, ironically, a late capture in the transfer window, but he’s been used sparingly – in fact, he’s been seen less than that rogue jar of Marmite that’s been lurking in my cupboard since we moved into the house ten years ago. There are lots of rumours about him possibly returning to Plymouth in the transfer window, and it certainly seems from Michael’s comments that would be the case. I strongly suspect you’ll have more chances of seeing Lord Lucan in the Imps squad for the trip to West Yorkshire this weekend.
“He’s been in and out. He had a bit of flu, missed some time because of suspensions, and it just hasn’t quite got going for him. At the start of the season, we had Reeco, Dylan, and other players missing, so we thought we needed cover at left wing-back. But he’s just not quite managed to get into the team.
“So yeah, I think we’ll have to reassess when we get to January. That’s the reason—to see where he’s at, where we’re at, and where his parent club, Plymouth, is at.”
Conclusion
The Imps certainly haven’t had a lot of luck with injuries, but that’s football, players come and go all the time. Bayliss and alker coming back is a huge boost to the front line, and hopefully, with Montsma, O’Connor and Roughan, we have a settled and able back three that can see us through until January, when another centre back is almost certain to be on the cards.
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