Hartlepool United team and injury news: Liam Gibson & Jay Benn fitness update pre-Aldershot Town trip
Hartlepool United team and injury news.
Hartlepool United boss Lee Clark has provided a fitness update on Pools duo Jay Benn & Liam Gibson ahead of the weekend trip to Aldershot Town.
At the weekend concerns were raised over injuries picked up by the defensive duo during Saturday’s 2-0 home win against National League rivals Barrow at Victoria Park.
Benn was replaced just three minutes into the second-half after picking up a knock and he was replaced by summer signing Neo Eccleston before Max Kouogun came on to replace former Newcastle United defender Gibson just after the hour-mark. There had been some concerns both defenders could face some time on the sidelines - but Clark has revealed both could be involved this weekend for the first away trip of the season.
Clark, speaking at the club’s Maiden Castle training base, said: “Jay Benn's fine, he has trained with us. It was just a really severe whack to his lower back, which obviously when you get them it's difficult to continue but that had settled down Monday, so he's been with the group all week.
“Liam is still being monitored, because we don't want that to turn into the hamstring issue. It's just a bit of stiffness in there. He's got a good chance of being available as well. With the exception of Owen Hampson and Luke Charman, the rest of the squad are available and ready to go.”
On Charman, Clark added: “The best case scenario from the MCL strain, which you're looking at 6 to 8 weeks, and we're into his third week of rehab now, so maximum now of another five weeks and he's really positive as well. We got a boost with the information from the scan because we thought it could have been a lot worse. It was the minimum amount of time out for that injury, so that was good news,” Clark told BBC Tees.
Summer signing Hampson will effectively need a pre-season when he returns to fitness after getting injured in the first few days of pre-season training and missed the entire summer programme.
Clark told the Mail: “He got injured in the second or third day of pre-season. He hasn't had any pre-season, so whatever time scale he comes back to joining the group, you're probably looking at another possibly four weeks with him playing in some of the Under-21 games as well. He's got to get some kind of similar work like the lads do in pre-season to be able to come and play, especially the way we want to play.
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“We know his assets align to that as well and that will take time. He’s a young player as well, so we've got to make sure we do what's best for him. It's been a really tough period for him. He came in, he was looking great in the first couple of days and he got this setback. For a young player, that can knock them back a little bit. So, we've just got to make sure he's all right and do what's right by him.”
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