Burge 'still sore' and Cobblers won't 'rush' Koiki back - but Brady is optimistic on McWilliams and Magloire

Goalkeeper Lee Burge is still ‘a bit sore’ following the calf injury he picked up against Salford City.

The Cobblers number one had played every minute of every league game this season before being replaced by Jonny Maxted at half-time on Saturday. He will be monitored this week ahead of the trip to Stockport County.

Elsewhere, Ali Koiki is edging closer to a return but will not be rushed, while manager Jon Brady remains optimistic that the hamstring injuries suffered by Shaun McWilliams and Tyler Magloire are relatively minor.

“The situation hasn’t changed (on Lee Burge),” said Brady. “He’s still a bit sore from the weekend but we will work with him through the week and see.

"Like I said last week, Ali is now back in training but we need to build up the strength in his leg and we don’t feel there’s any need to rush him. It’s important to make sure that he’s right when he returns.

"We did hope that he would at least be back on the bench on the bench sometime in December but that didn’t materialise and it is hard to put time limits on things.

"With the other two, Tyler and Shaun, I feel confident enough to say that both of them could be back by the end of January.”

Brady also confirmed that Josh Eppiah has trained this week despite the nasty tackle he received on Saturday.

"It was good to see him jump and continue playing,” Brady added. “He’s iced his leg up and pushed himself to get out and train this week.”