Injured players face race against time to return for Cobblers against Colchester

Cobblers' injured trio of Jack Sowerby, Aaron McGowan and Josh Eppiah face a race against time to be fit before the weekend.

Brady is already without the suspended Shaun McWilliams for the next two games so will be particularly eager to have Sowerby back available to bolster his midfield options.

The 26-year-old has missed the last two matches with a knee injury.

"It's a matter of time with Jack," said Brady. "Will he be ready in time for the weekend? We're unsure at the moment.

"Obviously Shaun is out for the next couple of games so we will wait as late as possible before making that call."

McGowan has also sat out the last two fixtures due to a hamstring complaint, while Eppiah suffered a calf problem in training.

"It's a fight against time for those two as well," Brady added. "We are working to try and get them back as quickly as possible.

"Again, we don't yet know if the weekend will be too soon for those players but I'm open-minded enough to keep the door open as long as we can.

"But we also need to realise we have 16 games still to go and there is a balance between trying to get them back and knowing we still have games to come.

"It is tough not having them available because it was a huge benefit against Newport when we were able to bring on offensive players to make a difference.

"But at the moment we are really short in those areas."