Manager Lee Johnson spoke to the media hoping to ease the fans on the injury situations of defender Carl Johnston and forward Jayden Stockley after Saturday’s clash against Lincoln City.
The duo suffered knocks at the weekend and were unable to continue with the day, as Stockley pulled out of the warm-up ahead of the game due to an unforeseen pain, and Johnston was carried off the pitch after a heavy tackle on the wing in front of the Parkside Stand at Highbury.
In regard to Johnston, he has been a big figure in the squad throughout the season and even wore the captain’s armband in the game against Burton a month ago, so to see him go down in pain was hard to see for all the Cod Army in the stands.
On the knock, Johnson said: “With Carl [Johnston], it looked like a bad one at first, there is some ligament damage, but he does feel in a better place now after the game. I think the shock factor of the tackle left him a little bit fearful.
“Saying that, I think the doctor has done some sort of scanning procedure on it and it looks more positive than we thought after the initial contact, he’s a good character and we need more like that.”
On the subject of Stockley, the manager mentioned that this is a recurring issue for the forward so care needs to be taken: “Stocks [Jayden Stockley] has got a back spasm, which he has had on two or three occasions so there is something there that’s a weakness.
“It does recover quite well but it goes at random times; that one is a big picture piece as well with nursing him back to full health, he probably needs a bit of an MOT around the whole body in that sense.”
Both players will now be monitored ahead of Tuesday’s league fixture against Reading, alongside Harvey Macadam who has been out injured for an extended period of time.
Hear everything the gaffer had to say in his post-Lincoln press conference, including the return of Adam Montgomery, the individual brilliance of Junior Quitirna, and much more.