Sheehan suffers injury setback but Miller makes return to training

Defender Alan Sheehan is likely to miss Cobblers' two big games this week after suffering a minor injury setback.

The 34-year-old last played in the goalless draw against Sunderland on January 2 due to an unspecified muscle problem but was expected to be back for Saturday's trip to Accrington Stanley.

However, the problem continues to linger and after further investigation, he cannot yet be given the green light to return to full training, ruling him out of this week's relegation battles with Wigan and Burton.

"Alan is back jogging now but he's not ready to join in training fully yet," said manager Keith Curle. "Alan knows his body and we have to wait until he knows he's able to go out and compete and be the competitor he wants to be.

"He played a couple of games that he probably shouldn't have played and that caused the longevity of the injury he's had. He had a few attempts at coming back but it's not been right so he's seen a couple of specialists and had some scans done.

"We've had their recommendations and we've got to follow that to the letter. He's following the strengthening programme and the return to field-based training programme but we're hoping in a week or 10 days we'll see Alan actively join training and be available."

Winger Mickel Miller, meanwhile, could be in the squad for tomorrow's game against Wigan after making a partial return to training on Monday.

"Mickel is back in field-based training and he'll join selective parts of the session today," added Curle. "The next step of his recovery will be controlled training."