WANDERERS will play a waiting game with defender Gethin Jones before deciding whether to launch him back into training.

The club sought a second opinion on an ankle injury after initial diagnosis put Jones out of action until January.

The right-back has missed the last four games but the signs are positive that he may be back sooner than initially thought.

Evatt is reluctant to push him too quickly, however, and says the club’s medical staff will not rush him back on to the training ground unless they are sure he will not break down again.

“It is a difficult one because we need to be cautious and careful,” Evatt said. “If we do too much too soon it could make it worse.

“Gethin is pain free now, which is the frustrating thing, but the minute you start to load that bone again, we don’t know what the outcome is going to be, so we have to be really careful and cautious with what we do.”

Jones’ place on the right side of defence has been filled by Harry Brockbank and latterly Lloyd Isgrove, who has moved back from the front three.

The club has yet to win a game in that spell and suffered another narrow defeat at Portsmouth on Saturday.

Evatt insists, however, that the group of players will find their way back to better form soon.

“Everybody in that changing room needs to close the door, close ranks, keep our belief, keep our faith and we know it will turn around sooner rather than later,” he said.

“We are a better team than we have shown in the last four or five games, and we have got some very winnable fixtures to come, so hopefully that will build some confidence.

“We will recover, get some players back and available, which is important for us, and get us through to January and go again.”

 

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