Left-back Jordan Barnett will not be available for tomorrow’s home match with Barnet, manager Darren Sarll has said.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
The former Notts County man sat out last weekend’s FA Cup win over Stevenage with an illness and the boss said he was not expecting him back until the FA Trophy tie with Woking next weekend.
Sarll said: “Jordan (Barnett) has not enough training time after his illness, so I don’t think he’ll make it because I don’t really want to risk him. He will be okay for next week.”
He added that striker Reuben Reid is also looking to return to the starting line-up for the game against Woking.
The experienced frontman came off the bench for the final nine minutes against Stevenage and the boss said he had given him “a big lift.”
He added: “For a chap who’s trained for or five times in three months, his first touch is scary and the way he saw the game out at the end and used his body to move the defender, he is a very good player.
“I’m hoping he’ll start next Saturday against Woking, that’s a good time to get half a match or 60 minutes in to him.”
In other news from the Friday morning press conference:
- The players were given a two-and-a-half day break after last weekend’s win and the manager spoke about using players who have not featured as much cover the Christmas period:
Sarll said: “We just need to get through Saturday without any more injuries and we can go in to next weekend (against Woking in the FA Trophy) and we’ll have to change the team.
“Players like Alex Bradley have been brilliant, he needs game time amongst others, so it’s a chance to shuffle the pack and see a few others.” - With the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus forcing games to be cancelled, Sarll said the team was continuing to be regularly tested.
He said: “We are very lucky with the medical team we have here, as soon as we have a symptom we lock down the changing room.
“But I think this is going to be life, so you have to adapt or get left behind. A COVID break is always on the cards at any points, but I think I have accept that as the norm now.” - There was praise for midfielder Matt Worthington for his role in the goal which won the FA Cup tie against Stevenage last weekend.
He said: “The player who came from Bournemouth was a deep-lying midfield player who received the ball from deep and would never really venture forward.
“Now we have this marauding, old-fashioned number eight that goes box to box, and he’s really grown in to a player he was never going to be three years ago.”