Fin Shrimpton update, and why Hayden Carson has been a half-time change for Chester
Connell Rawlinson spoke on the injury situation following the 2-1 win at Oxford City
Chester interim boss Connell Rawlinson will be sweating on the fitness of some of his key players ahead of the Blues’ final game of the season on Saturday.
Rawlinson’s charges head into the clash with relegation-threatened King’s Lynn Town at the Deva Stadium (12.30pm kick off) knowing that three points will secure a play-off berth, potentially seeing them finish as high as fifth.
A gritty display at Oxford City on Saturday earned Chester a vital 2-1 win, one that sets up a huge clash with the Linnets, where the Blues have their destiny in their own hands. But it will be a week of assessing the physical damage incurred by the efforts at Marsh Lane, where Fin Shrimpton, Hayden Carson and Jack Bainbridge all were left with injury concerns.
Shrimpton, whose goal in the first half set Chester on their way, has become a huge part of this Blues side’s revival, moving from an advanced midfield role to pretty much being Dylan Mottley-Henry’s strike partner in recent weeks.
But he was replaced on 51 minutes by Tom Peers at the weekend after picking up a hamstring injury, although the severity of it hadn’t been determined.
Carson, like he has been in recent games, was substituted at half time, with Connor Woods replacing him. The reason being, Rawlinson explained, was that the Blues are managing a hip-flexor injury with him, and he is in contention again for the weekend.
Bainbridge, who was back in the starting line up as a replacement for the suspended Lewis Leigh, who will be available for the visit of King’s Lynn, picked up a knock in the dying embers of the game, with Dion Kelly-Evans having been readied to replace him, but managed to see out the additional eight minutes of added time.
Rawlinson explained: “It’s too early for me to say (on Shrimpton).
“He’s going to have to be assessed. It doesn’t look too bad, to be completely honest with you, but he’s still going to need to be assessed because we need him available for next Saturday.
“Bambo (Bainbridge) was a little bit cramped towards the end. There was a bit of confusion getting him on or off the pitch, but other than that the lads have worked really hard there. They’re going to be tired. They’ve got to use the next few days now to really recover properly. Then we’ll be back in on Tuesday and looking to prepare for the game on Saturday.
“Hayden Carson came off at half‑time because we were managing something with him. He should be OK. He just needs to get back into Salford (from where he is on loan) through the week now and be reassessed.”
Rawlinson opted to make another change midway through the second half at Oxford, bringing off former Hoops defender Phil Croker and replacing him with Tom Leak.
Croker, who has been in excellent form for the Blues alongside Tom Davies, Carson, Michael Kelly and Nathan Woodthorpe during Chester’s fine run of form, exited proceedings as part of a tactical shake-up designed to cut of the supply from wide areas for the hosts, who had dominated the first 20 minutes of the second half and had looked more than capable of levelling the contest during some jittery Chester moments.
“We brought Tom Leak on and went to a back four,” said Rawlinson.
“Leakey’s a bit more used to that position and, as you saw at the end, he was absolutely outstanding. One‑v‑one in wide areas, really forcing the ball down the line to limit what they could do with the cross. They were just tactical changes.”
Chester have Leigh back in contention for the weekend after he served his one-match ban for his second yellow card against AFC Fylde saw him see red last week, while Kelly-Evans is fit enough to be part of the squad again after nursing a long-term injury back to health. Iwan Murray remains a doubt.