Potential fears over Guinness-Walker injury as Nolan reveals when Guthrie might play again after skipper's return to squad
Kevin Nolan fears Cobblers might lose Nesta Guinness-Walker for a period of time after he landed awkwardly on his shoulder in the second half of Saturday’s FA Cup defeat to Oldham.
Guinness-Walker went to ground after a challenge in the penalty box but referee Peter Wright waved away Town’s appeals and the defender then needed treatment from the physio before he made his way off whilst holding his shoulder.
“I was pretty disappointed with that,” said Nolan. “It could have been a penalty but it would have been soft and he should have just put it back into the box. But he gets himself in a tangle and we might lose him now. We’ll see how he goes but it’s just another negative on a really poor day for us.”
Jon Guthrie returned to the matchday squad for the first time in over 10 months when named on the bench against Oldham, and whilst it was never in the plan for him to come on at Boundary Park, Town’s skipper should feature in the coming weeks.
"We had no intention of bringing Guths on but it was good to have him back around the group and it was important for him to be involved again," Nolan added. “It’s a big thing to come back in after 10 months out so we wanted to give him that taster because we stayed over on Friday night.
"He’s back with the lads and he’s the captain of the club and it’s all good for his recovery and getting him back to where we want him to be. We had the nine subs so it was nice to get him around the lads for the first time since January, although he wouldn’t have enjoyed watching that today!
"But he’s doing all his rehab work and that’s the most important thing. I think we’re looking at getting him on the pitch and playing competitively again in the next couple of weeks.”