Shrewsbury Town's Josh Daniels needs a lucky break

Daniels, 25, re-injured his ankle for a third time when the subject of a clattering during last Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Cambridge in which the visitors’ Adam May was sent off.

Derry-born Daniels, signed by former boss Sam Ricketts from Glenavon in 2020, has started just once in the league this season, back in August. He has been either unable to force his way into the side at wing-back past Elliott Bennett, or struggled with fitness.

And Daniels was unable to train this week. He visited the Cryotherapy chamber to help the swelling but his ankle remains in a bad way.

“Yes, it was the last thing he needed,” Cotterill said of the incident. “If you look at his ankle now, it’s quite swollen, black and blue really. It’s a problem for him now, because he’s re-injured it a couple of times.

“When he first did it he came back into training and then did it again and this is almost like the third time. He has suffered a little bit with that. He’s a tough little cookie, but he hasn’t been able to get going.

“It’s a shame really, because he has a good pre-season JD, but he hasn’t been able to get going this year. We’ve just got to be able to look after him again, get him back to training again and get him back to being comfortable.

“The ankle is always complex injury, because there’s so many bones in it, so he really could’ve done without that.”

Daniels tried to continue last weekend, but the boss added: “It almost got painful (to watch) because every step he took he was limping, that’s the way it is, there’s nothing we can do, we just have to look after him and he’ll be looked after.”

Cotterill, whose side head to Lincoln today without Daniels, admitted with hindsight he could have brought forward Rekeil Pyke on at right wing-back, rather than Daniels, last week as the Northern Irishman eases his way back from the previous knock.

“Rekeil Pyke did well (on the right) when he came on (for Daniels),” he said. “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, if I would’ve put Rekeil Pyke on at right-back and left JD on the bench, JD thinks ‘am I out of the picture?’ Then all of a sudden you’re back to having to explain yourself by being kind in the first place.”

Meanwhile, Shrewsbury have been allocated 370 tickets for their FA Cup first round tie at Stratford Town. The small allocation has been decided following consultation with the safety advisory group.

Tickets will be first made available to season ticket holders who have travelled to away games this season and will be on sale from November 1. The clash at Knights Lane on November 7 has been chosen for live television coverage.