Notts County boss Luke Williams has provided an injury update ahead of his side's trip to York City on Saturday afternoon, revealing both Cedwyn Scott and Geraldo Bajrami are struggling with injuries but will be available for the trip to the LNER Community Stadium.
It has been a tough time in recent weeks in terms of injuries for the Magpies, with Aden Baldwin, Joel Taylor, Richard Brindley and Sam Austin having missed the past couple of games through knocks sustained in training, while others have occurred in the last few matches.
And the Notts boss revealed that while the four players are making good progress in their recovery from those setbacks, the trip to take on John Askey's side this weekend comes too soon for them to feature.
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Speaking on the defensive injuries, Williams said: "I think that first of all, Joel and Aden are making very good progress and that is down to the fact that they have pushed very hard, and we are very pleased with where they are at.
"We think that they will return to full training ahead of schedule, and that is a big moment because when they return, they full training, there could potentially be an issue, but we are at that point with both players which is very good.
"I think Richard Brindley is in a good place because he had a build-up of fatigue, but with an extended recovery time I expect him to be good now going forward before we potentially see that type of fatigue build up again.
"Geraldo Bajrami is wrestling with a little bit of discomfort and I think he tough and I don't think it will affect him too much. He is struggling to play pain free, but he is tough, and he is a warrior and not in a terrible place.
"Connell Rawlinson has done incredible for us because it was a long layoff, he played a little bit more than we would have liked against Aldershot and then straight into a full 90 which shows the character of the man.
"We are in an okay place; we would like to have everybody we have available, but we have a squad to carry on, so we are not in a terrible position."
And with those injuries in defence, the Magpies have still managed to make it eight games unbeaten in the National League until their first defeat of the season to Dorking Wanderers last weekend, putting on some excellent displays despite the absence of some of their key players.
While the attacking performances has been something to admire, one key component of that has been Austin, who has not featured since the 5-0 win over Dagenham and Redbridge at the start of September.
Addressing the midfielder's absence, Williams provided an update on the 26-year-old's fitness, explaining he expects him to feature in the coming games for his side and commended the Magpies' attacking players for continuing to create chances and score goals in his absence.
"I think that is a great thing because Sam is very talented, and he is going to be a big part of what we do because he has that threat in the final third and he is a top guy," Williams said.
"He has been out the team, and there has been no difference whether he has been on the bench or in the starting line-up, making an impact in either of those situations.
"He's now training fully with a small amount of feeling in the toe that is painful and impossible to move, but he is approaching that level of not feeling that discomfort, but he is tough enough to play with this minor issue at the moment.
"I expect him to feature in the coming games and that is great and speaks volumes in that we are able to create chances without him being on the pitch."
And while the number of injuries has caused concern about the squad depth at Meadow Lane, Williams was quick to reiterate that his side have the capabilities to cope with those absentees, praising the recruitment in the lead up to the start of the campaign.
"We have guys close to returning, guys on the brink because they are accumulating lots of minutes, and I am sure a number of the squad are playing through discomfort and not necessarily an injury and are playing through that," Williams added.
"We are in a fairly good place; the recruitment has been robust and good players have been brought into the squad to help us withstand us missing one or two players."
Only one player was forced off during their defeat at Meadowbank Park last week, with Scott coming off just after the hour-mark after initially struggling with cramp after levelling the scores five minutes into the second half.
On the striker, Williams said: "I think Cedwyn is okay, I don't think there is nothing more than him feeling discomfort. After an hour it is unusual because Cedwyn is not in that condition for that to happen.
"Maybe it is nothing to do with the pitch, but he is in a good place."
