McGowan suffers 'tweak' but Magloire comes through first two friendlies unscathed

The right-back is one of several players not to have played any minutes in pre-season so far, alongside injured trio Patrick Brough, Jack Sowerby and Harvey Lintott. Sowerby and Brough should return in the coming weeks but Lintott is a long-term absentee.

As for McGowan, his issue is less serious but it seems he’s unlikely to feature until Cobblers go to King’s Lynn Town next Tuesday at the earliest.

Speaking before Town’s trip to Spain was called off, Jon Brady said: "Aaron tweaked his calf. He should start to build with the ball this week but any minutes in Spain might be a bit soon for him. Even the Brackley game next weekend might also be a bit early but we’ll see."

Tyler Magloire has come through his first two outings in 18 months unscathed. The centre-back lasted nearly an hour in Saturday’s friendly victory over Peterborough Sports, which followed the 45 minutes he played the previous weekend.

"I'm delighted for Tyler,” added Brady. “I said to him before the Norwich game that no matter what happens he'll be crossing the white line today and that's a big moment.

"It's one hell of an achievement for him after the journey he's had and what happened to him. It's been over a year and a half so to get to that stage and cross the line is a big achievement.

"We're all behind him and it was just about him being back on the pitch and enjoying the game. It's like a threshold to break through and for him to know he's gone out there and done 45 minutes and got through it, and looked good, it's a real positive for him and for us.

"It was great for him to play again against Peterborough. His geography on the pitch still needs a lot of work but to be out for a year and a half, there will be some rustiness and that's understandable.

"But he looks fit and strong and now it's about consistency. It's testament to him that he keeps crossing the white line at the moment because that's the minimum that I'm after and I'm happy for him.”