Bristol Rovers team news ahead of Crawley as Gas face right-back shortage amid fresh issues

Bristol Rovers are set to face a shortage of options at right-back for their League One game at home to Crawley Town on Saturday amid fresh injury concerns as well as a suspension in the camp.

As previously reported, Taylor Moore will miss this weekend's game through suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Lincoln City last weekend. Meanwhile, Aston Villa loanee Lino Sousa has picked up a hamstring injury which will keep him out for at least a month.

Although Sousa isn't naturally a right-back, the left-back has played on the opposite side of defence before for Rovers and was an obvious choice to replace Moore who has been slotted in there, also out of position, amid Jack Hunt's recent injury concern.

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It sounds as though Hunt once again won't be available while long-term absentee Joel Senior isn't expected to be deemed ready to return until later this month if not in early December.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's match, Matt Taylor revealed: "We've actually lost Lino this week. He's damaged his hamstring. A minimum of a month [out]. It's just a hamstring. [A] small tear in training. Pitches are changing a little bit. [It] wasn't from a running mechanism, just a slip, which is strange for a muscle injury. But yeah, it's a shame because you want everyone fit and available but that happens

"There's still Joel Senior and Gats [Gatlin O'Donkor] who are maybe a week, two weeks away, 10 days away," Taylor added. "So they're getting closer. Obviously, Hunty and Lino and one or two others we've got issues with.

"Taylor Moore is suspended this weekend, so probably on the back of a, what we felt on the back of Reading, another positive performance last weekend. Suspension not ideal but that's part and parcel of it. It's why you have a squad of players, it's why you have more than 10 outfields and 11 players in terms of availability."

In slightly more positive news, there is a possibility that Promise Omochere will be deemed ready to return three weeks after suffering an ankle injury against Reading while there's also hope that Luke Thomas could feature having missed the Lincoln draw with a groin issue.

Omochere didn't make the game last weekend given that he was still feeling pain and discomfort in the ankle joint but, with Ruel Sotiriou away on international duty with Cyprus, the Gas could really do with having another forward option available.

Meanwhile, Thomas featured in a behind closed doors friendly earlier this week and, although he has found himself out of the side of late, the winger would still be an excellent asset to have in contention, be that from the start or bench.

"We're taking Promise day by day," Taylor declared. "So, like going into last week, we'll make a late decision on that one. He's been outside in a team capacity today, which is a good sign. So we'll monitor that one in the next 24, 48 hours.

"He can still feel something. It's where the pain threshold is but also, when he's trained, maybe last week, there were moments where there was a collision or a slip and it opened up the ankle joint again. So you can't go into a game thinking one moment like that pushes it back another week or so.

"But the decision not to involve him last weekend and, not deload him, but just do individual style work at the start of this week has allowed him to train to a certain capacity today. Now, Thursday, Friday is very minimal in terms of opposition aspects. So we'll make a decision, but I'd say he's got a better chance than he did this stage last week. So we're hopeful in relation to that, but we'll only know after tomorrow."

On Thomas, the Rovers manager added: "He's done a little bit. He featured in the game on Tuesday so that initial groin doesn't seem to be too serious. He's still feeling something in there or in around that area so every day we're just wary of what that will bring but he could be available as well."

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