Shrewsbury's Dan Udoh and George Nurse making progress in ACL rehab

The pair are both unlikely to feature again for Town this season after they picked up anterior cruciate ligament injuries earlier in the campaign.

They have both undergone successful surgeries on their problems – after waiting a brief while to allow the swelling to go down. They now face a long road to recovery.

It can be a lonely place when you are expected to be out for so long but the boss revealed he chats regularly with the pair, and he said they making progress and are in good spirits at the moment.

“Dan Udoh and George Nurse are coming on really well,” Cotterill said about their recovery.

“I spent a bit of time with them while they were working the other day in the gym.

“So that was good – they are coming on – and they are on good form.”

Town have been desperately unlucky with injuries so far this season, they are missing five players who would most likely start every game.

In addition to Nurse and Udoh, Aiden O’Brien and Julien Dacosta are out for the foreseeable future.

The pair are waiting to see a specialist in London for their injuries, but that will not be until early December.

And last week the boss revealed Elliott Bennett could be out for up to 12 weeks after suffering a calf injury – but Cotterill did caveat that by saying there is a chance the wing-back could be back before then.

But Carl Winchester says Salop must keep their spirits high.

The 29-year-old insisted Town that despite the injuries they do still have the squad to be able to compete in League One.

“You have to keep the spirits because every team is going to suffer injuries,” the versatile midfielder said.

“But here it has been really harsh.

“I have hardly seen anything like this in a while.

“It is just one of those things, you just have to get on with it.

“I believe we have got a squad that is still capable to compete in this league and that is the main thing.”