Jon Brady on Sam Sherring's ankle injury and the signing of David Norman

New signing David Norman will provide Cobblers with some much-needed defensive cover after manager Jon Brady suggested Sam Sherring faces a spell on the sidelines due to an ankle injury.

The 22-year-old had started 22 consecutive games for Northampton but was not involved in the squad against Doncaster Rovers on Saturday after picking up an injury in training last week.

The severity of the problem is not yet known and Brady was reluctant to put a date on Sherring’s potential return, but it appears unlikely to be a short lay-off. There were also concerns over Aaron McGowan who seemed to be struggling with a groin issue in the closing stages of Saturday’s victory.

Brady said: "I don’t know if there are any more injuries from today – give me 10 minutes to enjoy the win! But Sam has injured his ankle. There’s no timeframe on it at the moment but I don’t think he will be back in the foreseeable future.”

With the deadline to register new signings falling last Thursday, Cobblers had to act fast to bring in another defender, with Norman joining on a contract until the end of the season.

The 24-year-old Canadian has spent much of his career across the Atlantic and is primarily a central defender, although he’s also played at full-back and in midfield.

Asked how the move came about, Brady explained: "An agent contacted us. He had been flown over to go to another club but he was let down by them so he was going to be at a loose end and we are giving him a bit of a chance.

"It's a last minute type of thing to give us a little bit of cover and fortunately for him, given the situation, he might get an opportunity. We only found out about him in the last few days so it was a quick one to get some cover in and we're happy to have him in with us.”

Despite missing five defenders on Saturday, including four centre-backs, Cobblers still managed to keep their eighth clean sheet in 12 games and third in a row.

"It's a very good record,” added Brady. “We had four centre-halves out today but we still found a way.

"I thought Aaron (McGowan) came in and was excellent, and obviously Jon (Guthrie) as well, and (Ryan) Haynesy and young Harv (Lintott) did brilliantly. Everyone worked hard and it was really good all-round.”