No fresh injury concerns as Cobblers prepare for visit of Crawley

That means that Sam Foley (back), Marvin Sordell (knee) and George Cox (ankle) are all out of the match with the Red Devils, who sit just one place and one point below the Cobblers in the table.

There was some concern that David Buchanan may be struggling after he suffered nasty bruising in the 1-1 draw with Lincoln City last weekend, but assistant boss Colin West has confirmed he will be fit to play.

The left-back was on the receiving end of the reckless challenge that saw Harry Anderson red carded at Sincil Bank, but got up and carried on playing until the end.

That was when the extent of the damage to Buchahan’s lower leg was revealed, and although West admitted that was a shock to him, he says he wasn’t surprised by Buchanan’s reaction.

“David is a tough cookie, and to be fair we were a little bit shocked when he took his sock down on Saturday, but that is the type of fella he is,” said the Cobblers assistant boss.

“He gets stuck into everything, all the tasks that are put in front of him, and he has been excellent.”

On Foley, West said: “Sam is coming along slowly, and you can’t rush things like that.

“It is a slow process with Sam, who is desperate to get back out there, but we have to take our time with that.”

And it is a similar story for Sordell, who only signed on loan from Burton Albion on deadline day.

“Marvin has had some treatment and is going to be another week or two weeks away, so we are going to have to monitor him,” said West. “It is something he can’t rush either.”