Boss Boothroyd may bolster Northampton Town squad with loan signings

KNEE BOTHER - Cobblers skipper Kelvin Langmead receives treatment from physio Stuart Barker after injuring his knee in the 1-0 win over Oxford United on Saturday (Picture: Sharon Lucey)KNEE BOTHER - Cobblers skipper Kelvin Langmead receives treatment from physio Stuart Barker after injuring his knee in the 1-0 win over Oxford United on Saturday (Picture: Sharon Lucey)
KNEE BOTHER - Cobblers skipper Kelvin Langmead receives treatment from physio Stuart Barker after injuring his knee in the 1-0 win over Oxford United on Saturday (Picture: Sharon Lucey)
The Cobblers could enter the loan transfer market this week after losing defenders Kelvin Langmead and John Johnson to injury during Saturday’s win over Oxford United.

Club captain Langmead, who had played every minute of every game prior to the weekend, limped off after 12 minutes with a suspected knee injury and Johnson was withdrawn with a hamstring strain during the second half.

Lee Collins played in place of Langmead at centre-back but is the club’s only other option there, although Ben Tozer can play in the middle and David Artell can be recalled from his loan at Wrexham at 24 hours’ notice.

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And manager Aidy Boothroyd has confirmed he will discuss transfer options with his coaching staff and club chairman David Cardoza ahead of the loan deadline passing on Thursday.

“I’m hoping Kelvin will be available for the Torquay game on Friday but it’s a little bit too early to tell at this stage,” said Boothroyd.

“He felt something in his knee and he tried to carry on but I thought we should get him off the pitch if there is any doubt at all.

“Thankfully we’ve got an able deputy in Lee Collins, who was fantastic and contributed to the clean sheet that we kept.

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“John Johnson went off because he was feeling his hamstring a little bit as well.”

Prior to the weekend, Alex Nicholls was the only absentee, although Chris Hackett is playing with a slight calf strain and three players - Artell, Lewis Wilson and Louis Moult - are all out on loan.

Boothroyd could add at least one new face and it is understood the focus will be on an experienced player rather than a young loanee.

“We’ve got a very tough programme coming up over Easter and I need to have a few meetings with the staff and with the chairman in the week,” he said.

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“I need to think about what we might need to give us a little bit more depth for the last few games we’ve got.

“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got enough in the squad to get us over the line. I will assess it this week and take it from there.

“We spend a lot of our time out at games looking at players not just for the run-in but for next year, looking to improve.”

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