Cobblers will wait on Lintott as Brady hopes to have one back for Carlisle United

Jon Brady is hopeful of having at least one injured player back in the squad for Saturday’s long trip up to Carlisle United – but it’s too early to tell if Harvey Lintott will be fit enough to start.

The right-back slotted in at centre-half against Gillingham on Easter Monday but had to be withdrawn at half-time due to a tight hamstring. With Cobblers so stretched defensively, midfielder Jack Sowerby came on in his place.

There are 11 other injured players currently, six of whom are definitely out for the season. Cobblers remain optimistic that the other five – Max Dyche, Sam Sherring, Shaun McWilliams, Josh Harrop and Josh Eppiah – will he able to play some part before the final game of the season.

"We have iced Harv up and he's coming along OK,” said Brady. “We will just see if Saturday is too soon or not. We are not sure at the moment so we'll have to wait and see.

"There might be one back on Saturday but again it could be too early. We are stretched in certain areas and it's come back to bite us.

"There's a trade-off at the moment with five games to go. We are trying to get players back quicker than they probably should come back but we also realise there are still four games to go after Saturday.

“Timing is everything. As a manager, you have a duty of care to the players, but they all want to give everything they've got and more."