Keith Curle provides Hartlepool United injury update but urges caution over Jamie Sterry’s return to action

Pools won their first away game in nine months when they defeated Crawley Town last time out - a match that saw Jamie Sterry make his long-awaited return to the starting XI. The former Newcastle United defender played the full match as Pools banished demons from their 5-0 humbling against Stockport County to win their first match on the road this season.

Sterry was just one of a host of injury worries that Curle has had to deal with since taking charge of the club, but the Pools boss is hopeful that his side can put those injury worries behind them and look forward to the future, one that starts with a clash against Newport County at the Suit Direct Stadium on Saturday.

Curle told BBC Radio Tees: “We’ve gone through a period of time where we have had eight or nine players unavailable for selection and five or six of those would have been first-team starters. But other teams will go through that period this season.

“You have to be able to shuffle the pack. You have to, sometimes, abandon some of your strategies that you’d ideally like to employ because you haven’t got the personnel so you have to change it and be adaptable.

“Hopefully we have gone through that period now and we’re strengthened by the players coming back in. Jamie’s return, I think that’s just his second game for me since I’ve been here, he’s a player that has been identified as having talent and I even tried signing him at my previous club.

“I understand what he can offer and what he can bring. The more games Jamie plays, the more he will get back into his groove and into his stride and how he sees the game being played.

“He’s still being protective about his body because he’s got an understanding of how he wants to feel when he plays. He’s got that understanding and I’m respectful of that. A player like Jamie, you have to listen to him and understand where he’s at and what he needs.”