It is set to be one in and one out for Joey Barton's Bristol Rovers in midfield on Saturday when they take on Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium.
Sam Finley returned to training on Thursday and is in contention to play after missing the opening day defeat to Forest Green Rovers with a groin issue, but the Gas are set to be without Jordan Rossiter.
The former Rangers and Liverpool midfielder picked up a hamstring injury on debut in the late stages of the 2-1 defeat on Saturday and he is likely to miss Saturday's trip to Staffordshire. Midfield is an area of the pitch where resources are light for Barton with Paul Coutts two games away from returning from suspension, Josh Grant recovering from a knee injury, and Zain Westbrooke among three players told to find a new club earlier his week.
Barton also wants to recruit heavily in the remainder of the transfer window with seven or eight additions wanted, and the manager accepts the Gas are in for a "tricky spell" while they await signings to be completed. In the interim, he has hinted at a more direct approach on the pitch with the introduction of substitute forwards Harvey Saunders and Ryan Loft proving effective against Forest Green.
Finley's return is a huge boost – he was a talisman of Barton's promotion-winning team last season and his absence on the opening day was acutely felt with captain Coutts also unavailable – but Rossiter's absence causes problems. The more attacking Antony Evans could be required in a deeper role or second-year scholar Jerry Lawrence could be thrown in at the deep end after an impressive pre-season.
"Sam has trained today, so hopefully he comes back into contention but you’ve got to be careful rushing him back," Barton said. "You rush him back and you lose another player.
"Paul Coutts is one game closer to playing and will be one more after Saturday from last season’s suspension, but we’ve got to get the squad together so we can manage the load of all the players and safely navigate the group through. But Sam comes into contention and that is a nice option.
"(Rossiter) played on in the game with a niggle and it looks like he’s going to miss a couple of games now because he pushed himself into the back end of the game. That’s where if we had the reinforcements you’d have been able to manage the load of players.
"We’re in for a bit of a tricky spell until the window closes and we get the requisite bodies in, but for me you’re learning all the time in terms of watching your group. There were some really good things and there are some things that are non-negotiable for us and we’ll have to adjust them."
With Rovers' squad thin after not making a new signing for a month – excluding coach and "emergency player" Glenn Whelan – coupled with the injury situation, summer signing Rossiter was needed for the duration against Forest Green.
Barton does regret not using Whelan from the bench, but he says he was focused on trying to win the game.
"He felt a little bit of a twinge in his hammy in the in-house game," Barton added. "Due to shortages, he felt fine and just being the lad he is, he knew state of play and he just pushed on.
"I think if the game would have been in a slightly different phase, he may well have been able to make a substitution, but because we were trying to win the game, we didn’t have that many options.
"I asked him during the game if he was feeling alright and he said he felt alright. He’s just tweaked something so it’s not doom and gloom. But if we had three more subs we would have put a senior on. I’m kicking myself now that I didn’t put Whelo on, but because we were chasing the win and we were in the ascendancy with the four strikers on the pitch, we decided to leave it as it was.
"When it comes off and you win a game, you’re a genius, but when they score and their lad produces a moment of quality you look back and think ‘Should we have done things differently?’
"If Sam would have been fit – but they’re all ifs, buts and maybes – we would have taken the load out of Jordan. But it was absolutely necessary to get the maximum out of that game."
A physical game is expected against Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's Brewers, who employ direct tactics, and Barton revealed Rovers are having to be more pragmatic in the interim until he makes the desired additions to his squad.
"(Rossiter is) not available for Saturday, but we’ll have to find a different solution to get a result and we’re going to play a type of football we haven’t played," Barton added. "We’re not going to be as expansive and as fluid at passing through the phases as what we’ve been in the back end of last year, but that’s the way we want to play. I don’t want to play a bit more direct, but we have to play that way to give ourselves the best opportunity.
"If I know Jimmy’s team and Burton quite well, they won’t have any qualms about getting a lot more involved in the direct stuff and we’re going to have to deal with that."
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