Bristol Rovers v Plymouth Argyle injury news as five ruled out, one doubt and three return

Bristol Rovers hope to make it a second win in a week as they host table-topping Plymouth Argyle at the Memorial Stadium in League One.

The Gas won comfortably against nine-man Swindon Town in midweek to confirm their place in the knockout stages of the EFL Trophy with goals from Ryan Loft, Harry Anderson and Luke McCormick.

Rovers had been on course to top the group but a 94th-minute winner for tomorrow’s opponents Plymouth against Crystal Palace meant that an away tie lay in store for them next.

Attention now turns back to the league where another big test awaits Joey Barton’s men. The two sides met in the Papa John’s Trophy in August but the two teams were much changed and the line-ups will look considerably different on Saturday.

Plymouth after suffering play-off heartache last season, are top of the pile and are four points clear of second-place Ipswich. A whole 16 points separates first-place Plymouth and Rovers who are in 12th, the last position in the top-half of the table.

Rovers’ upturn in form has coincided with their key players returning from injury and Barton almost had a clean bill of health for what is a huge challenge in front of him. Josh Grant is the obvious absentee after he underwent an operation that ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign. Grant had only played one match but has had to deal with a recurring knee injury which hampered his availability last season.

Summer signing John Marquis is set to miss his fifth consecutive game after sustaining a knee injury in the win against Crystal Palace back on October 4. In his absence, Rovers have won four games and Josh Coburn has since made his debut after his Deadline Day arrival from Middlesbrough, with the striking department not short of options.

Progression is being made as he steps up his recovery but the match with Plymouth will come too soon, admitted the manager.

He said: “He’s moving better today, he hasn’t been out with us on the grass today, so I think this week will be a little bit too soon for him. He’ll be disappointed and the big players always want to play against the big teams and it’s a big game.

“It shows how well we have done in recent weeks that with him and James Connolly, we can “take a bit more time with them. It will bold well with the marathon of the season still out in front of us.”

Centre-back James Connolly was expected to play a part in Tuesday night’s win on but instead trained after a decision was made by Barton along with the medical staff. The player had been keen to feature but Rovers applied an element of caution to avoid aggravating his injury.

"He wanted to play tonight, but with some of the physical metrics we use, we felt it came a little bit too soon for him, merely by days," Barton said on Tuesday. "Had it been next Tuesday or this Saturday, it might’ve been a different story.”

Academy midfielder Jerry Lawrence, who had an injury made a welcomed return and played the first 45-minutes. Harvey Saunders might return to the match-day squad after he was suspended along with Glenn Whelan.

Jordan Rossiter, James Gibbons and Lewis Gibson weren’t included in the match-day squad in midweek but are expected to return to the 18 for Saturday. Scott Sinclair could also make his second debut after joining on a free transfer this week.

Plymouth Argyle injury news

Steven Schumacher will have to do without Macaulay Gillesphey who is ruled out with a groin injury as per PlymouthLive. Gillesphey has missed the last five matches and will also be without Dan Scarr, who is out through a suspension after a red card.

Matt Butcher, a reported target for Rovers in the summer, stood in as a makeshift left-sided central defender after Brendan Galloway was a doubt. Galloway was a substitute in the 4-1 win against MK Dons but he did not come off the bench. Galloway played the entirety of the match in midweek against Crystal Palace and could find himself back in contention after no injuries were reported.

Wing-back Mickel Miller, has not made an appearance for them this season, and remains sidelined. He sustained a torn thigh muscle before the campaign began but no time frame has been given on when he will return.

Finn Azaz, was a player that Rovers boss Joey Barton revealed he wanted to sign in the summer, but he ended up agreeing on a move to Home Park. He has registered five goals and five assists in 15 matches this season. Their top goal scorer is Ryan Hardie who has netted seven times in 15 matches, whilst Sam Cosgrove is also a player to watch out for having recently hit form.