Chester boss Phil Parkinson will be hoping to welcome back some players from injury this weekend as the Blues make the long trek to the North East to take on Hebburn Town.
Parkinson’s side were handed their first defeat of the season on Bank Holiday Monday as Paul Lewis’ goal early in the second half earned Morecambe a 1-0 win at the Deva Community Stadium in a game where Chester never did enough to win the game, but probably enough to grab a share of the spoils.
Parkinson made a number of changes to his Blues side against the Shrimps on the back of a 1-1 draw at Hereford two days prior, with George Burroughs and Connor Woods both absent after picking up knocks, and a number of other changes made to freshen up the starting line-up.
This weekend at Hebburn will likely see Chester return to a line-up similar to the one that faced Hereford, with the hope being that both Burroughs, who has been hugely impressive this season alongside Jake Griffin, and Woods will be available. New loan signing Joe Boggan, who arrived on a season-long deal from Scottish side Livingston on Tuesday, will likely also be involved.
Speaking to The Seal this week, Parkinson said: “There was nothing major, really. George’s was his foot as he’s got a bruise from an impact (at Hereford). He couldn’t walk yesterday but he’s walking today, so he’s just getting that bruising down. It’s his right foot as well, so he’ll be fine come the weekend.
“Connor’s got a strained calf. He’s an explosive player so he wouldn’t have been able to give us what he normally would (against Morecambe). Hopefully a bit of rest and he’ll be right as rain going into the weekend.”
Burroughs’ absence on Saturday did present 39-year-old Sam Foley with the chance to start at centre back having made an impressive, albeit brief, cameo late on in central midfield against Hereford.
Parkinson went with Foley’s experience for the game after feeling that the make-up of the backline would have looked too youthful if he had gone for the options of Jack Kenny or Isaac Burgess.
“Sam Foley stepped in and, apart from the set piece, he hadn’t been troubled by the lads running in behind,” said Parkinson.
“They like to suck the centre‑halves out for the (Matty) Daly run in behind. I think they did it once in the first half, we learned from it, and that’s his experience, recognising the up‑back‑and‑throughs. So yeah, he did absolutely fine.
“We could have gone even younger with young Isaac going in there or Jack Kenny, but I was very aware that the little bit of extra experience George brings, along with Sam (Reed) and Nathan (Woodthorpe). I wanted to stick with as much experience as I could in the back line. Otherwise we’d have had an extremely high amount of 20–21‑year‑olds in there. Luke Hewitson is that age, obviously Griff, and Ma’kel (Campbell), a 19‑year‑old, and Connor Murphy who’s 18.”
Parkinson had been hoping to have Dominic McHale involved against Morecambe on Monday after he had been sidelined with a foot injury since midway through pre-season. But a slight setback means that Hebburn may also come too soon, although a trip to Buxton on Saturday, September 12, may present a chance for him to have some involvement.
Jack Bainbridge is nearing a return to full training but will need some time to get up to speed and match fitness having missed the entirety of pre-season.
Hope they do return on Saturday. Been weighing up making the trip north but that may sway me! Great and timely update, Dave! Thank you! 💙