Bristol Rovers will be without Ruel Sotiriou for this weekend’s trip to Crawley Town after the 24-year-old was called up to Cyprus’ squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Sotiriou has been in good form for the Gas with four goals in his last seven home appearances while performances under Inigo Calderon have notably improved. He also provided the assist for Chris Martin’s second goal in last Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Bolton Wanderers.
The versatile forward has one senior cap for his nation having missed out on an appearance in their last squad but will be looking to at least double his caps total this week with Cyrprus hosting San Marino on Friday before travelling to Bosnia Herzegovina next Monday in their first two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup. They also have Austria and Romania in their qualifying group.
Rovers are already short on goalscoring options, meaning that Sotiriou’s absence is a blow ahead of a game of significant importance this weekend. However, it does seem as though the 24-year-old will be the Gas’ only international call up.
Promise Omochere is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring issue while Gatlin O’Donkor has also been sidelined for over a month with a similar issue. However, the Oxford United loanee is believed to be closing in on a return to action while Martin, who missed Saturday’s 5-0 defeat at Lincoln City, is expected to be available.
Meanwhile, Cardiff City loanee Michael Reindorf hasn’t made an appearance for Rovers since the 2-1 defeat at Northampton Town last month despite being fit and 17-year-old Ollie Dewsbury came off the bench against the Imps, but is also expected to be away with a Wales youth side.
The Gas’ miserable away form continued on Saturday in a thumping at Lincoln which saw their advantage above the relegation zone cut back down to six points.
They haven’t won on the road since their 1-0 win at Cambridge United on January 4 and will be looking to change that when they host fellow relegation battlers Crawley who now look all-but set for an immediate return to League Two.
The Red Devils also conceded five goals on Saturday, losing 5-1 at Huddersfield Town as they went 12 points shy of safety with nine games to go.