Mansfield Town team news for Sixfields trip - including the latest on ex-Cobbler Tyler Roberts
Stags boss Nigel Clough expects Tyler Roberts to be fit for this weekend’s trip to Sixfields despite the on-loan Birmingham City forward missing Mansfield’s last two games.
The 26-year-old has three goals in eight games for Mansfield this season after netting just once in 31 appearances during his time at Cobblers last term, but he was absent for the FA Cup win over Harrogate and Tuesday’s EFL Trophy defeat at Huddersfield with a shin injury.
However, asked for an update on Roberts this week, Clough said: “Tyler just has a sore shin. He took a whack against Plymouth last week but he should be OK for Northampton. He has trained but it was a little bit sore and he’s also not been well so I didn’t see the point of risking him.”
Midfielders Regan Hendry and George Maris were both forced off with injuries this week.
"George just got caught in the back of the knee,” Clough added. “It’s a bit painful at the moment so we’ll have to see if it settles down. It’s such a big game at Northampton on Saturday before the two-week break and we wanted every intact.
"It’s a balancing act because if you play the youngsters, you’ll be turned over but we’re trying to win the game and you’re also trying to protect people for Saturday and beyond.
"Regan has ankle and knee problems. He’ll probably be back around Christmas time, which is a huge blow. He had a double scan because he injured both his ankle and his knee in the same tackle.
"We are still managing Deji (Oshilaja), who has a groin issue, and Kyle Knoyle has a sore back but apart from that everybody else should be involved.”