Shrewsbury duo to push each other on the road to recovery

The pair are set to be out for an extended period with cruciate ligament problems.

And the boss thinks the duo will be glad to have each other as they embark upon the long road to recovery.

“If you were Dan or if you were George, you would be quite happy that you have got company and competition,” Cotterill said.

“Even though Dan will be quite a bit ahead of George.

“Obviously, we don’t want either of them to have the injury.

“But if there is a consolation – they have got each other – and George has got a marker where Dan is further down the line.

“They are both very good professionals and will be very well looked after by everyone here.

“They have very much been kept part of the group.

“The only consolation is that they’ve got each other.”

Daniel Udoh is further down the line with his recovery, last year’s top scorer picked up his injury at the end of August in Town’s 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers.

A few weeks back, the boss revealed Udoh had undergone successful surgery and had not got a meniscus tear, something he described as a ‘real bonus’.

And Cotterill gave another positive update on Udoh’s rehabilitation.

He said: “On the positive side of it, Dan went back to see the surgeon this week, and he is absolutely delighted with where he is.

“It won’t speed up his recovery.

“But normally they would go back for a six-week appointment – but he doesn’t need to see Dan after those six weeks. That’s a real bonus.

“It won’t help us this season but that is a positive for Dan.”

Nurse is further behind his team-mate in terms of recovery.

The severity of his injury was confirmed before kick-off last weekend at Cheltenham after initially hurting himself in the home victory over Burton the week before.

The boss said the wing-back is also making progress, but insisted they cannot rush him back and they need to take care and let the swelling go down in order to make sure he heals quickly.

He said: “George is doing really well.

“He’s got to get some mobility back in his knee and the swelling down before the operation.

“But he is doing really, really, well.

“It almost feels like you are wasting a month but it’s not – you are probably gaining six months by getting it right.

“A cruciate can be nine to 12 months but if that operation happens too early, it can go to 18 months.

“He will probably be pencilled in for the last week of this month.

“And by then his knee perhaps would have settled down enough.

“When you go down and see the surgeon, there has to be a certain amount of acceptance on George’s part.

“I think that realisation hit him when he saw the surgeon in the week.

“It’s too early to operate at this time. He will probably be pencilled in for the last week of this month.

“And by then his knee perhaps would have settled down enough.”