Key man 'a major doubt' as Carlisle boss looks to follow Northampton's lead

Carlisle United midfielder Owen Moxon is a ‘major doubt’ for Saturday’s League One fixture against Northampton.

The 25-year-old midfielder, who has started all-but one league game for the Cumbrians this season, limped off with a hip problem against Blackpool last weekend and is one of several injury concerns for manager Paul Simpson.

“Taylor Charters and Hunts (Paul Huntingdon) will be back into full training next week,” said Simpson. “JJ Kayode went to see the specialist on Wednesday and he’s been given the all clear to go back into full training. We’re looking at probably two and a half to three weeks of training that he needs.

“Jack Ellis is back in full training so he’s available for selection but Mox is a major doubt for the weekend. We’ll just have to wait and see, but we’ll give it as long as we possibly can. He’s had treatment all week and he’s had an injection in his hip so we need to see how he reacts to that.

"He’s had a scan and there is some damage but it’s just a case of waiting to see how quickly it settles down. Hopefully he’ll be fine for this weekend, but if not, possibly the week after.

“Terry and Jokull (Andrésson) are still going through their rehab. Fin (Back) is still at Forest but he’s doing really well and he’s back on the grass with them. Callum Guy had his surgery on Wednesday. He’s got nine months of work and the challenge for him is to come back even better physically and as a footballer than he was when he got injured.”

On facing Northampton, Simpson said: “It’s a tough game. They’ve won four of their last five and those 12 points make a big difference because suddenly they look in a really comfortable mid-table position.

“We know it’s going to be difficult but it only takes one result to turn it around. I’m sure Northampton were looking around wondering where the next win was going to come from only a few weeks ago and suddenly they’ve won four out of five.

"If we could do that, it makes everyone smile a bit more and it puts us in a much better position so we have to start winning and start putting in good performances.”