BURTON Albion could still be down to the bare bones when they face Millwall at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday (kick off 3pm).
Calf injuries have sidelined defenders John Brayford, Ben Turner and Tom Flanagan, while Jake Buxton, who came on as a sub last night at Barnsley, also picked up a knock.
Marvin Sordell (sore toe) and Luke Murphy (gashed shin) are also struggling.
Nigel Clough said: “We will take it to Friday, even Saturday morning, to see how they are as the bench was a little bit spare last night to say the least. Luke Murphy couldn’t have really come on – maybe only five minutes as he has a sore ankle as well - and Jake Buxton got a whack in the few minutes he came on.
“Damien McCrory hasn’t started a game since September.”
Strikers Darren Bent and Liam Boyce are both gaining match time however and improving fitness wise as they recover from long term injuries.
Clough said: “Liam started last night and after the hour mark he started to flag but we wanted him to play that extra five minutes, so he has the confidence for the rest of the season. It was a physical game and that’s good for him.
“He and Darren have to share the load. We didn’t think Darren could play three games in a week and he played 90 minutes on Saturday. When players are coming back to full fitness you can’t play them 90 minutes three times a week in the Championship. It’s about picking the right time to play them.”