Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton says James Belshaw and Antony Evans missed Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to MK Dons through rib and foot injuries respectively.
While neither man was in line to start the game for differing reasons, their absences from the bench were notable as the Gas slumped to a third-straight League One defeat, falling to early and late goals at the Mem.
Ahead of the game, Barton revealed a clause had been agreed between Brentford – the parent club of January signing Ellery Balcombe – and the Gas that the goalkeeper would start the first three games after joining or a loan fee would be incurred.
As a result, Balcombe was effectively assured of the starting spot against Morecambe and MK Dons, and he is also set to play against Lincoln City on Saturday. In that context, Belshaw’s absence from the squad altogether raised questions, but Barton made clear that the 32-year-old is dealing with an injury and he will compete for the number-one role as soon as he is fit again.
“Belly felt something in between his ribs in the warm-up at Morecambe,” Barton said. “Obviously, he was diving around and saving the shots for the lads who were starting and he felt his rib.
“He tried to train on Monday and Tuesday but he was struggling. He would have been able to go on the bench or start had he taken a painkilling injection, but as we were going to start Ellery, we said to Belly ‘Just get it right’.
“By that time, Ellery will probably have played his third game and we’ll see where we are.”
Evans, meanwhile, suffered an injury in the 5-1 defeat to Morecambe on January 28. His form has fluctuated this season, unlike last year when he consistently delivered key contributions, and after being subbed off at Morecambe it was reasonable to expect he would not be in the starting XI for the MK game had he been fit.
“A bruised foot,” Barton said when asked about the midfielder’s absence from the 18 against MK Dons. “He picked it up in the game on Saturday; somebody whopped him.
“Again, he trained on Thursday and was in far too much pain and he couldn’t make the squad with the bruising in his foot.”
The prolonged absences of centre-back Lewis Gibson and midfielder Jordan Rossiter are undoubtedly having a significant impact on Rovers' recent downturn in form. The pair have thigh and knee issues respectively, missing more than a month of action.
They are unlikely to be back in time for the trip to Sincil Bank at the weekend, but Barton insists the Gas cannot feel sorry for themselves; he says they have the players available to deliver better performances than have been seen in recent weeks.
"I’ve got a flight booked tomorrow to Lourdes with the pair of them," the manager said. "We’re dipping them in the water and hopefully we get a miracle and they will be fit for Saturday.
"But look, we’ve got enough good players out there. When those lads come back, they are really important players to us.
"We have certainly missed them with the composure Lewis brings to the backline and the number of turnover balls Jordan gets for the team, you just can’t replace the pair of them at this level.
"But we’ve still got players out there that should be able to do the job and the blow of people getting injured is just normal for every team across the season. We can’t pin our hopes to one or two players staying fit.
"It’s a group effort and there are going to be suspensions and injuries and the squad has got to remain steadfast and make sure that level of performance is certainly higher than it has been in the past few weeks."
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