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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Sport
Leigh Curtis

Ian Burchnall clarifies Callum Roberts situation amid rumours on Notts County absence

Notts County head coach Ian Burchnall insists there is no problem between him and Callum Roberts after the winger was left out of the squad to face Southend at the weekend.

Roberts played 90 minutes for England C last week in their defeat to Wales but was not included in the 16 that travelled to Roots Hall for the 3-0 win.

All week there have been rumours regarding Roberts' absence on social media following his omission from recent squads, having last played in a 3-0 defeat against Stockport County last month.

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There had been suggestions from fans that there had been a "falling out," but asked whether that was the case after the victory over Southend, Burchall said: "No. Don't believe everything you read on social media. There's a lot of things on social media, and I stopped reading it a long time ago.

"Cal was recovering and was maybe 50/50 for the Chesterfield game, but off the back of the Boreham Wood performance, I didn't feel we needed to change much there knowing he was going away with England.

"We don't know how the training is going to be controlled there and how many minutes he was going to play. Turned out he played 90, and I would rather he played less.

"That meant when he came in on Friday, he was doing his recovery and hadn't trained for more than a week with us. For me, especially after recent performances, I didn't feel the stress to perhaps create a problem with an injury.

"He rests this weekend. Now, like any player who is out, they have to capitalise on the training sessions next week to try to force their way back in.

"While Cal has been out, we've performed really well, and it's up to him now. Hopefully, that creates the competition that we want that it raises the bar when he comes back in."

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