Huddersfield Town digest: Three back in contention after injury
Huddersfield Town digest: Three back in contention after injury
Mickel Miller will miss out against Northampton but Michael Duff has a trio back available and in contention
What’s been said
Michael Duff, at his Thursday afternoon press conference, on Matty Pearson, Ollie Turton, Josh Ruffels, Tom Iorpenda, Bojan Radulovic and Freddie Ladapo all playing for the B team in a 6-0 win on Tuesday afternoon:
“I don’t think I’d be sending them to the west coast of England or down south or anything like that, but the fact it was at our training ground and there’s loads of them, it’s not seen as a punishment. They all went about it absolutely like we’d expect them to: professionally, did it properly, didn’t mess around, didn’t take liberties.
“They got the scoreline to four, five, six and people were still doing it properly. It’s brilliant not just for them, but also shows the younger ones what it takes and the levels they need to get to, the professional behaviours they need to get to, to have the careers of a Matty Pearson, a Josh Ruffels, an Ollie Turton.
“The two forwards need minutes and know they’re short, but people like Matty, Josh, Ollie…I’ve been in that situation and you can turn up and sulk and think ‘what’s the point in me playing in this, I’m not going to get myself out of it’…but sometimes in their position you can only actually do yourself harm.
“Their level every day training has been what we expect. Expecting and getting it are two different things, and the group as a whole have been good in terms of managing themselves to a point where I don’t need to stay on top of them all the time.”
Coming up next
Northampton Town were newly-promoted back into League One as they finished a very respectable 14th last season, and their results this season have remained mixed with one win, two draws and two defeats putting them in 18th.
The waffly versatile Sam Hoskins has long been the dangerman for the Cobblers, reaching doubled figures for goals in each of the past three seasons, and could turn out on either wing or up front.
Blackpool have had a similarly tough start, which has come as some surprise after they spent much of last season pushing for a play-off place before missing out by just three points.
There will be a few familiar faces when the Seasiders come to the John Smith’s Stadium: left-back James Husband, striker Jordan Rhodes (who joined the club permanently in the summer after spending last season on loan), and new manager Steve Bruce, who made a winning start to life at Bloomfield Road with a 2-1 win over Exeter on Saturday.
Blackpool have looked potent in attack this season, taking more shots per game than any other League One side except Rotherham, and have been particularly strong on set pieces: six of their nine goals this season have come from dead balls, including three for surprise top scorer Husband.
Huddersfield Town injuries and absences
Danny Ward will see out his three-match ban against Northampton and Blackpool and will be available for selection again thereafter.
Mickel Miller will not be available to face Northampton thanks to the hamstring injury that forced him off at half time against Bolton. His injury is not currently thought to be serious, but Michael Duff hopes it will be keep the wing-back out for ‘a couple of weeks tops’
Brodie Spencer (shoulder), Herbie Kane (groin) and David Kasumu (ankle) are all back in full training after their respective injuries and are in contention to be involved this weekend. Kasumu returned the most recently of the three and may be a little bit behind Kane for a midfield place.
Rhys Healey and Chris Maxwell are both still on indeterminate timescales for their hamstring and heart issues respectively as the club monitor their conditions.
Radinio Balker is forecast to be out until the new year with a fractured ankle suffered in pre-season.
Predicted line-up to face Northampton
3-5-2: Lee Nicholls; Tom Lees, Michal Helik, Nigel Lonwijk; Lasse Sorensen, Antony Evans, Jonathan Hogg, Ben Wiles, Jaheim Headley; Callum Marshall, Josh Koroma.
Substitutes: Jacob Chapman, Matty Pearson, Brodie Spencer, Joe Hodge, Herbie Kane, Freddie Ladapo, Bojan Radulovic.
Huddersfield Town Women
Following their comeback victory in the WNL Cup away to York, Town Women will get back to it in the league with a trip to face Middlesbrough in Sunday’s 2pm kick-off.
Our schedule
I’ll also have a written piece for you before the Northampton game, which will be out on Friday morning.
You know the drill by now around the games: ratings on the final whistle for all readers for both the men’s and women’s games, followed by more detailed analysis.
Five conclusions on the Northampton game will be available Sunday morning, with the Blackpool conclusions due first thing Wednesday morning.
The podcast will be out first thing on Monday morning.