Bristol Rovers could welcome Joel Senior back to action after almost three months out this weekend when they visit Mansfield Town with the summer arrival recovering from a serious hamstring injury for the majority of his short time with the Gas so far.
The right-back came on in the 2-0 defeat at Stockport County in August, Rovers’ third League One game of the season, but had to come back off having picked up the issue that has proven to be a lot more severe than it first appeared that afternoon at Edgeley Park.
Aside from pre-season friendly games, the 25-year-old has made four competitive appearances for the Gas so far and will be looking to drive his way into the team over the upcoming hectic festive period.
Speaking on the latest injury news ahead of Saturday’s game, Matt Taylor revealed: “We’ve actually probably been in a better position than we have been previously because Joel Senior is available. Whether he’s done enough training, we obviously can’t get him a reserve game or an under-21 game or a balanced type game to get him game time on the pitch, but whether he’s done enough to feature from the start or from the bench remains to be seen.
“Anyone who’s missed that amount of time and the frustrations you have with it as a professional footballer, it’s all about them looking forward and being positive and it’s almost his second coming.
“Obviously pre-season start of the season and then the injury so early on, we didn’t get to see enough of Joel and certainly his capabilities. So we’re looking forward to him returning. No pressure immediately because he’s just got to get fit and stay fit for a period of time. But then we are looking at that contribution aspect and the competition driving the right-back, right wing-back department.”
The injury to Senior was particularly frustrating considering the fact that his fitness record for Morecambe last season was near-perfect, playing 43 out of 46 league games with a total appearance tally of 50. However, when he does return, the summer signing will feel like a bit of a new signing considering how little Gasheads have seen him play in a Rovers shirt.
“He’s probably had his cruciate maybe three years ago, a major injury, and then this hamstring in between that,” Taylor added. “He’s played so many games and almost coming off that perfect season in terms of availability last season.
“He’d just come on at Stockport as well and it wasn’t a sprinting muscle tear. It was a clearance of the ball muscle tear. So I think it was a tendon involved in it as well.
“So a worrying one, one we didn’t predict, one we didn’t anticipate and a real shame for Joel because when you go to a new football club, you want to remain fit for as long as you possibly can to be able to showcase your own skills.
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“So the key thing is now he’s fit and healthy, stays fit and healthy and he starts getting opportunities on the pitch.”
On the back of having to overcome a major shortage at right-back, Rovers do have a more healthy looking pool of players available for selection in that position with Taylor Moore back from suspension having recently been deployed on the right-hand side of defence. However, it won’t be a full roster for some time with Jack Hunt ruled out until after the Christmas period at least.
“He’s out for a period of time,” the Gas manager confessed. “He’s got a tear in his calf, so he’s out for a longer period of time. I don’t think we’ll see him this side of the Christmas period, so he’s out for a significant period of time.”
On the availability of strikers Promise Omochere and Gatlin O’Donkor, with the former making his return to action last weekend, Taylor added: “Gats has trained and trained properly now so, similar to Joel, what capacity he is in to affect the pitch, but we’ve seen the impact he’s had from the bench at times this season. So that’s a really big plus.
“And it’s a day to day basis with Promise. That ankle’s still not out of the woods by any means. I think you could probably see that when he came onto the pitch last weekend. So we’re constantly monitoring him.”