Western Morning News (Saturday)
Taylor to wait and see before naming
EXETER City manager Matt Taylor admits it will be a case of wait and see before naming a side to play Leyton Orient today.
The Grecians have had a nightmare start to the season with injuries and now a Covid outbreak, which threatened to see today’s clash, Tuesday’s long trek to Barrow and the Westcountry derby with Bristol Rovers next Saturday from being played.
However, after the Grecians returned negative results following the latest round of testing on Thursday morning, the Grecians are free to prepare for the trip to Orient, but minus Alex Hartridge and Sam Nombe, who have tested positive, and several players ruled out through injury.
“It’s surreal really,” Taylor said. “Obviously we had the two that tested positive and then Josh Key, didn’t test positive, but he’s had a throat infection and suffered the same symptoms as everyone else with Covid!
“Anyone that has a sniffle or a cold, you have to suspect it’s Covid and you have to treat it like it, so everything is disjointed because we have players missing training and missing games. I expect it to continue throughout the season and moving forward and all we can do is make sure we stick to our protocols and our medical protocols.
“We feel we are doing the right thing for the players and that isn’t always the right thing for me as a football manager and training and picking the team. But the players’ safety is our main concern and we have to react as best we can when someone can’t play or isn’t available and that is always an opportunity for someone else.
“Tuesday turned out to be a negative in terms of the result, but it was positive in terms of more experience for some players, who maybe didn’t think they’d have that experience on Tuesday.”
On the injury front, influential
midfielder Archie Collins is stepping up his return next week after being injured in the penultimate pre-season friendly of the summer at home to Shrewsbury Town. There are other knocks and niggles to contend with, while everyone is keeping everything crossed that Sam Stubbs can step up his return after suffering a recurring issue with fluid on his knee.
“Archie is walking pain free, which is a big thing because we are still not two weeks after that initial injury, so it’s a good sign and the next stage will be to see how he reacts to running, which will probably be next week,” Taylor said.
“If he can run without pain, or a small amount of pain, then he’s not a million miles away. I don’t expect him to return in the next few weeks, but he is certainly not months away and we are looking forward to Archie coming back.
“Obviously we have the Covid absentees, but then, Josh Key comes back into the squad off the back of his throat infection and Tim Dieng took a really bad bang at the end of the Wycombe game and we are assessing him.
“Jonathan (Grounds) has played more minutes than what we anticipated, so his body is stretched and struggling a little bit, so it will be interesting to see what we have on Friday morning and see who is fit enough to go and play 90 tough minutes of football.”
On Stubbs, Taylor said: “We are progressing at different stages in terms of him having to go back a couple of steps before he can go forward.
“Sam’s knee is pretty stable and settled at the moment, but it is always the next stage when he runs harder and runs faster and changes direction. We will see how he responds to that and that will come in the next few days.
“We keep getting to the same stage, it is breaking past that next stage with no reaction which is harmful to his knee.”
On Orient, Taylor said: “I watched their game against Salford, where they were very impressive and anyone that watched their second half performance against Queen’s Park Rangers will have been hugely impressed.
“They are very dynamic, they have legs in the team and have a purpose and try to play, so there is lots to like about this Orient team. I expect them to be not too far away from the reckoning come the end of the season.”