NIGEL Clough hopes that the weekend break will enable his squad to re-charge batteries before resuming League One action against Accrington on January 25 at the Pirelli Stadium.
The Brewers are without a fixture today as they were due to play Bury and must watch and see how the results pan out.
With Albion having won five out of the last six League One games, the manager might have been concerned about losing momentum but with only 10 players really fit enough to start against MK Dons on Tuesday he’s pleased at the opportunity to try and get everyone fit again.
That includes Nathan Broadhead, whose appearances have been patchy because of a niggling hamstring injury.
Clough said: “Nathan has gone back to Everton for a week as they have got all the results of what he did pre-season and all the tests on his hamstrings. We spoke to them and are working together in the hope we can get him back to how he was pre-season and then hopefully he will be fit for Accrington.
“We just want him right, as the last thing we want is for him to be stop-start for the rest of the season.
“He looked fine against MK Dons but at half-time he was feeling it again, so it was precautionary, and we didn’t want to risk him.
“Everybody needs to do something different over these 10 days. Some need to get fit, have treatment or build up their strength and stamina. Some need to rest almost completely.
“If you think of seven games in 24 days that’s pretty hectic when it’s the same players.
“There will be a few people who might need a game and who will play at Nuneaton in the Birmingham Senior Cup on Tuesday. We are hoping that Jevan Anderson will be fit, Kieran Wallace, Richard Nartey so it could be quite a strong side on Tuesday night.”