Due to injuries and suspensions, Paul Hurst believes that Grimsby Town’s squad depth is currently being put to the test in advance of the game against Swindon Town.
The Mariners will be eager to resume their winning ways, especially away from home where they now sit in last place in the league with only two points after four away games. This weekend, though, presents Town with two of the division’s two remaining unbeaten clubs as well as some of the league’s top scorers.
Only one game across all competitions has Michael Flynn’s team failed to score, despite scoring 24 goals in the league so far. Hurst had more injury information to share ahead of another challenging test, including some unexpected absences in the team’s training camp before of the game and an additional long-term injury.
We’re going to roll out a couple; there are a few longer-term ones that everyone is aware of. Niall Maher and Evan Khouri, for example, continue to be injured and won’t be available [for the Swindon game].
We lost Calum Ainley last week, and it’s sad that he suffered a serious calf injury that will keep him out for several weeks, possibly even months. This is bad because he was just getting started. Though he wasn’t on the field for a long period of time during the [Crawley] game, he felt it. Although he finished the game, he was sore afterward, and the scan didn’t give a satisfactory result, so that’s another one we’ll be missing.
Given how crucial Town’s defensive organization will be against merciless, attack-focused competition, Maher is one of the biggest absentees from the game. Kamil Conteh is also out since he is serving an automatic one-game suspension for receiving five yellow cards. Hurst is optimistic that the team he can pick will still be capable of inflicting Swindon with their first league loss of the year, but this will be a true test of Town’s fortitude and ability after a challenging start to the season.
