JAKE Buxton was delighted to have John Brayford back in the team at Shrewsbury on Tuesday and hopes his captain can shake off a couple of new knocks to lead the team again in the FA Cup on Sunday.
The Brewers travel to Barnet in the First Round looking to start another big cup run.
Brayford came back from injury to be the surprise inclusion in the starting line-up on Tuesday night.
Buxton said: “John is like Lucas Akins, they want to do anything they can for the football club. John trained on Monday and he wanted to be out there at Shrewsbury and to lead by example and his performance was outstanding alongside Sam Hughes and they deserved a clean sheet.
“John has had to miss training today with bruises and the knocks he got. I spoke to him to make sure that he wasn’t putting himself at risk by playing and he’s not had a reaction but he is black and blue today after getting knocks all over.”
Defenders Reece Hutchinson and Michael Bostwick will miss out on the trip to Barnet but are inching closer to fitness.
Buxton said: “Reece had a run out last week in a friendly but needs a bit more game time before coming back into the fold. Michael Bostwick is probably another 10 days away from joining in with training, but he is improving and coming along quite nicely. We will be very grateful when they are both ready for selection.”
Jack Roles will be back on international duty with Cyprus from Monday so is also likely to miss the cup tie.