More Cobblers players back in training as injury situations improves

Lee Burge, Max Dyche and James Wilson were all back from injury and in the squad for Saturday’s game against Lincoln, but the bench still included two teenagers from the academy.

However, a number of the 12 first-team players currently sidelined are either on the grass again or close to a return, even if they might not be involved against Wycombe at the weekend as manager Kevin Nolan takes a cautious approach.

"We’ve had a few players join in training again but I don’t really want to say who,” said Nolan. “I hate giving names because if that player doesn’t play on Saturday, I’ll be asked ‘where was he today?’ and I’ll say ‘he wasn’t quite ready’.

"But I must admit it’s good to see the squad start to thicken a bit and it’s nice to see some players who I haven’t been able to get my eyes on up until now. They are starting to join in with us now.

"Whether they are ready for Saturday or whether these games might have come a bit too soon, I’m not sure, but we will assess them in the next 48-72 hours and see what they can do and see if they are ready to be in the squad for the weekend.

"I’m certainly hopeful we will start seeing a much more experienced squad than what we have had. We just keep going and keep doing what we’ve been doing but it is nice to work with a few other players this week.”