Brandon in big dash to play for the Gas

BRISTOL Rovers midfielder Brandon Aguilera is undertaking a 5,500-mile journey to try to be ready for their League One encounter at Port Vale tomorrow after featuring for Costa Rica in their friendly defeat against Argentina.

On-loan Nottingham Forest talent Aguilera played 68 minutes for his country in Los Angeles as they were beaten 3-1 by the world champions with goals from Angel Di Maria, Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martinez.

The 20-year-old is due to land at Heathrow late tonight with Rovers then laying on an Uber to transport him to the team hotel just outside Stoke-on-Trent, with kickoff then following at 3pm tomorrow. Rovers manager Matt Taylor won’t be fully able to assess the playmaker until he joins up with the rest of the squad, to then determine exactly how much of the game he’ll be able to play.

On the plus side, his time on the field for Costa Rica has kept his sharpness over the international break after a month out with a hamstring injury, but the 13-hour journey he will undertake and the likely impact that will have on his physical state means he may only be good enough for a place on the bench.

“It’s an interesting one,” Taylor said. “Brandon gets back in the late hours of Thursday, so we’ve got to find a way of getting him from Heathrow, if his flight is on time, up to Port Vale.

“With all flights and travel, there could be delays, there could be problems, there could be hiccups, there could be fatigue in there.

“I’ll speak to him Friday morning, it will be great to have him available and it’ll be great if he can play some part. What that looks like on Friday is yet to be determined.

“But either way, it’s a positive he’s got some game time and got through unscathed after his previous injury, and he got to play against Argentina. From Argentina to Port Vale, it’s a bit of a contrast!”