WANDERERS boss Ian Evatt says Declan John’s knee injury will not keep him out of action for long.

The Welsh full-back limped out of the 1-0 win against Carlisle United at the UniBol and missed Saturday’s win at Morecambe.

Evatt confirmed after the final whistle, however, that the injury was not a serious one and that he expected John to be back in action soon.

“Declan’s just really got a real bad dead leg,” he said. “It’s actually called a haematoma, to give technical terms, and a bit of swelling on the joint where he’s collided and clashed knees. I would think he’d be okay pretty quickly but it just was too soon today.” 

John’s replacement, Huddersfield Town loanee Ben Jackson, claimed the winning goal for Wanderers and left his manager a delighted man.

“Declan is a fantastic player so Jacko’s had to be patient, but he showed today what a fantastic young player he is,” Evatt added. “To be able to step into an occasion like this and probably be man of the match, he deserves a lot of credit.” 

Evatt was also able to name skipper Antoni Sarcevic on the bench, bringing him on in the second half.

The midfielder is now expected to be fully fit for this weekend’s home game against Exeter – where victory would confirm a place in League One next season.

“We’ve missed him, no two ways about it, but the way he came on and with two days full training, he just cruised into the game and looked a very good player,” he said. “It’s massive, for Saturday, no doubt it’s massive and we need him.”  

Hear Ian Evatt's full post-match assesment here: