Gareth Ainsworth on Carl Winchester's injury and Toby Savin's return to the Shrewsbury squad

The midfielder has not played for Salop since the 4-1 defeat to Cambridge, and he has been suffering from a knee problem he picked up in training.

The 31-year-old was not far away from making the squad for the game against Wigan at the weekend, and the boss delivered an update on his fitness. 

"Carl is very close now," he said. "He missed out on Saturday, but he is very very close. 

"To have someone like Carl who will run through a brick wall even if his leg is hanging off is great. 

"We have just had to probably rein him in a little bit and say 'Look Carl this has got to heal a little bit more.' 

"It is just a tweak on the knee, it is nothing major. He needs to be in the game and make sure there is no re-occurrence of that, and that is what Chris Skitt (head of medical performance) and David Wates (physical performance coach) do. 

"They are making sure he is flying when he gets back." 

And the Salop boss went into more detail to explain the injury the combative midfielder has suffered. 

"He just opened the medial ligament up in training," he continued. "I have done it loads of times. It is just a blocked tackle where you just open it up a little bit, and that is a two or three-week injury. 

"It is a bit of a nightmare one because you almost feel like you can play. It was very innocuous in training, and Carl is saying he is ready to go. 

"But we have to make sure he is fully fit for the next tackle because he has been fantastic for me since I have come in."

Meanwhile, Ainsworth has confirmed Toby Savin will be back in contention for the game against Lincoln. 

The Town number one was given a break in the 2-2 draw against Wigan, but he is set to come back into the fold for the Boxing Day clash against The Imps. 

"He is back in contention for selection for the squad," Ainsworth said. "I can confirm that he was very happy when we brought the point back - as I said he would be. 

"A weekend off for him was the right thing. I am pleased that it went well. I was pleased with Jamal (Blackman). 

"There was a whirlwind whipped up around the goalkeeper situation, and sometimes you just have to make decisions to calm everything down. 

"That was one of those, there is no blame for anyone, as a team we concede together and I think Toby will be better for the weekend off."