James Collins is fit and available for tomorrow night’s visit of Nottingham Forest in the Championship, after recovering from a positive Coronavirus test.
The top scorer has missed the last three games through self-isolation after discovering he had Covid-19, with manager Nathan Jones saying that he’s benefited from the period of rest, while Harry Cornick will also be back in contention after pulling up with a groin strain last week.
Talking of Collins, Jones said: “He’s done everything that he needs to do, so in theory he does become available, so we’ll see.
“It’s thick and fast, the games, so whatever we decide to do, we’ll have to wait and see, but he is available, because he’s stuck to all the protocols.”
The club last week posted social media photos of Collins keeping fit at home, in preparation for when he can come out of self-isolation, having been given a training programme.
Jones said: “We do that here. James is very good, very fit, this won’t do him any harm, but with James it’s about controlling him as he’s one of the ones who can do too much.
“So, ironically, he probably benefited from the rest, there’s one or two that could really do with that, but with the games the way they are, it’s difficult.
“We think we’ve got good strength in our squad, we’ve got good options, we’re maybe not as blessed with the budget of others in the division, but we’ve got a really strong squad and I thought Danny’s (Hylton) been wonderful I really do.
“He’s missing a goal at the minute, which is what’s catching everyone’s eye, but all round performance at the weekend was outstanding.
“We’re in a good place, we’ve got Harry Cornick as well coming back in, so we’re in a decent place, (Sam) Nombe has different options, so we’ve got four strikers there who can really impact.”
Right back James Bree has been sidelined for more than a month, while left back Dan Potts has not featured at all this term. Speaking of their progress, Jones said: “They are right on the periphery of being ready, so it just depends whether we want to risk them.
“Potts is a little bit further away than the other two (Bree and Cornick), but it’s just when we really put them back in.
“We need to have that at this level as without being disrespectful to anyone, we felt we were always the best side in League or League Two, regardless of what the result was, we believed that we could out press, out work, out pass, out score teams at that level.
“At this level we have to be tactically very aware and that means changing certain things, formations, personnel, freshening stuff up, as we know we need to be at our maximum constantly to get results and that constant juggling act and constant tactical battle that we have, but that’s why it makes it such a great league.
“You’ve got managers from loads of different backgrounds, and coaches from different backgrounds, players that can adapt and that’s why it’s such a great test and that’s why we wanted to be at this level.”
