Chris Cohen is hopeful Conor McGrandles and Mikkel Ladefoged can return for Lincoln City’s trip to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, with Ben House ruled out through suspension.
McGrandles missed the defeats against Birmingham City and Watford after picking up a knee injury in the second half against Burnley. Ladefoged missed the game in mid-week after getting a concussion in the defeat against Birmingham, but both are closing in on a return.
McGrandles has been a big miss, and the midfielder was back in training on Monday, but the trip to Vicarage Road came too soon for him.
“Yeah, we’re hoping he’s going to be back,” Cohen said.
“Obviously, when you open up a knee joint, you’ve always got to be careful, but he’s been back on the grass and we’ll see if he’s right for Saturday. We’re really hopeful, yeah.”
Ladefoged missed the Watford game after going into concussion protocol following the Birmingham match. It was a surprise to fans, who had expected him to play, and the striker still needs an independent assessment before City know whether he can travel to Loftus Road.
“We’re still going through that process of getting an independent person to come in and assess him to see if that’s going to be possible for Saturday,” added Chris.
“If it’s not for Saturday, then it’ll be after the international break, but we’ll see. Hopefully he can be part of the travelling squad.”
Sadly, we will be without the energetic House. He was fit to start at Watford after taking a blow to the face against Birmingham, but his booking early in the second half, arguing Watford’s goal, means Cohen already knows he’ll have to make at least one change from Tuesday night’s starting XI.
“Ben’s got his fifth booking, yeah, so he won’t be able to play. But apart from that, yeah, we’ve got most of the players available that have been with us for the last few weeks.”
That could include Ethan Wheatley, who has been training against after an injury has ruled him out since the Sheffield United game. The Manchester United striker has only appeared once, briefly, during a challenging loan spell, but he has been back on the grass.
It’s unlikely we’ll see Mason Melia, who was originally ruled out until the last international break, but now looks set to come back in time for Wrexham a fortnight on Saturday.
Leave a Reply