Joey Barton gave a brief yet promising reply when asked about Antony Evans' fitness for Bristol Rovers at the weekend. The Gas travel to Prenton Park in hope of defeating promotion rivals Tranmere Rovers, and the availability of nine-goal playmaker Evans doubtless would be a boost.
Evans has missed two games with a calf injury sustained at Northampton Town last month. Rovers lost and won in the matches he has missed, sitting in fifth in League Two ahead of Saturday's visit to Merseyside.
Left-back Nick Anderton, too, has missed the games against Carlisle United and Bradford City due to a muscle strain, and Barton was asked if both men will be fit to take part at Tranmere on Saturday. A smile slowly emerged as he replied: "Hopefully," choosing to keep his cards close to his chest two days out from kick-off.
Evans has been a talismanic performer for the Gas this season, adding 10 assists to his haul of nine goals. Anderton, meanwhile, has grown in stature as a Rovers player and was a deserving member of a back four that has conceded just 11 goals in 19 games since the start of 2022.
That Barton has not ruled either out is a positive, with the trip to Merseyside always the target for both men's return to contention.
Utility player Josh Grant is also expected to be available after a full week of training, but midfielder Jon Nolan – who has made just one appearance since joining as a free agent in February – will miss out.
Barton said: "Jon is back on the grass today but it might come a bit soon for Jon, but Josh has had a full week of training and is back in the mix."
Barton was full of praise for Tranmere and their manager, Micky Mellon, and the Gas boss expects "nothing but a thorough examination in every single department" at Prenton Park.
"I know Micky really well and I saw him at the Burnley Everton game last night in passing," Barton said. "He’s a great friend of mine, a really good friend of mine and I’ve known him a long, long time.
"Every time we’ve played against his teams, I’ve had a tough game. I’ve never had an easy game against any of his sides. They are always competitive. I think he is a very underrated coach. The amount of promotions he has had is a testament to the quality of manager he is.
"This is another enormous game for us, a really tough game. A great club, Tranmere, on my doorstep with a really big following. They are a huge club in the division with a passionate supporter base, big ambition and they’ll want to go up after having a solid season and being right up there all year.
"We know this will be a really tough game and every time I play Micky’s sides, we’ve had absolutely nothing but a thorough examination in every single department.
"On Saturday, with everything that’s at stake, I expect them to be pressing us right out of the gate. They won’t want us to settle on their pitch, we’ll have a hostile crowd and they are really physical from the set play."
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