Bristol Rovers midfielder Luke McCormick and right-back Luca Hoole are both close to returning to action after ankle injuries, according to manager Matt Taylor.
The former has been out for nearly two months due to an ankle injury that disrupted an impressive run of form at the time, while the latter was spotted wearing a protective boot last month during the 7-2 FA Cup victory over Whitby Town, which resulted in the defender missing the latest Wales under-21s camp.
McCormick has scored twice for Rovers this season and started consecutive league games against Port Vale and Oxford United in early October as he began to climb the pecking order of former manager Joey Barton’s midfield with some creative, front-footed displays from the middle of the park.
One of those goals resulted in what is still arguably the best moment of the season so far, as the 24-year-old came off the bench late at Charlton Athletic in August and scored the game-winning goal deep into stoppage time, prompting the player and his teammates to form a huddle with Rovers staff members in the technical area.
Hoole, meanwhile, started the first five games of the season before succumbing to the arrival of the experienced Jack Hunt, who has also been one of the Gas’ top performers this season, which hasn’t helped the 21-year-old in terms of game time.
Neither is expected to play in Saturday’s league game against Cheltenham Town, but both are close to returning. Taylor replied, “Not far away,” when asked about McCormick’s current situation. “Hooley, too. They’ve trained with the squad completely unopposed. They have not yet made contact. As far as I know, they were both ankle injuries caused by contact moments, but they’re doing everything except full contact, which I believe will happen in the next few days.
“So they’re really close, and they look fit, bright, and like they want to come in and affect it.” As a result, I’m looking forward to working with those two.”
Unfortunately, Taylor confirmed that Lewis Gordon will be out for an extended period of time after sustaining a hamstring injury in the first half of Tuesday’s EFL Trophy defeat at Crawley Town. As a result, Rovers are extremely short at left-back, with George Friend also out.
Both Harvey Vale and Josh Grant have started at left-back in recent weeks while James Gibbons swapped from the right full-back position to the left in the second half of Tuesday’s loss but it is a major concern for the Gas.
Taylor commented on other injuries in the squad, saying, “Obviously, we lost Lewis on Tuesday.” That’s a significant setback for us, made even more so by the absence of George Friend. So we’re suddenly short in the left-back position. I know we have a couple of right-footed players who can cover that position, so it’s definitely a weakness going into the weekend.
“Antony Evans was sick in that game on Tuesday.” Gibbo was hit, but he appears to be fine. Grant Ward, Chris Martin, and Hunty were among those we looked after. So we’ve got a few new players in the mix. In terms of where we are, it’s fine.”
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