Colchester 'really short on players' for Sixfields trip

Kylian Kouassi, Teddy Bishop, Jack Payne, Harry Anderson and Tom Smith are among those who have been absent recently, but ex-Cobbler Beryly Lubala could return after missing the draw at Chesterfield in midweek.

Colchester have continued to pick up points despite their injury issues, losing only three of their 11 league games, although they’ve not won in any competition since August.

“I don’t think there’s any good news on the injuries,” said Cowley. “Everybody is short to medium term and we’ll keep working hard with the players we’ve got and we just have to keep going.

“I’d like to have a headache with team selection. It’s tough with so many out but in any difficult moment there’s always an opportunity and we all need to do our bit.

“We’re really short on players but I was so proud on Tuesday - we dug in, we didn’t go under and the boys showed immense character and personality in that second half.

"We've almost got a whole team out at the moment but we went to the well. They are by far the best team we've played this season. I've lived these levels long enough to know what a top, top team they are but we didn’t go under. Football’s a lot about feeling and we took a lot from that game.

“We have to believe in ourselves and believe in one another and you have to fight and keep going and believe. We know it's possible. You need to play with courage and personality. It can be easy to be lost with everything that's gone against us but the boys stood up and fought until the end. We went home with a really good point because Chesterfield are as good a League Two team as I've seen.”