Stockport County’s influential midfielder Ollie Norwood could make his long awaited return from injury against Mansfield this weekend.
County boss Dave Challinor admitted his side have struggled for consistency in the absence of Norwood, who underwent surgery on a blood clot in his leg early last month.
From leading League One after 14 matches, Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at home to Stevenage saw them drop to sixth, nine points behind new pacesetters Cardiff.
Norwood’s return would provide a huge boost to Challinor’s outfit as they seek to reignite their promotion push.
Asked whether the 34-year-old will figure before new year, the Hatters boss told Stockport’s YouTube channel:, external “There is a definitely a chance. He will join in training in the week and all things being equal, and nothing going adverse, there is a chance for some involvement against Mansfield.
“If it is not Mansfield then he should be available here against Lincoln.”
Challinor’s side have taken just four points from a possible 15 since Norwood was forced to undergo surgery but the Hatters boss insisted not all their troubles can be put down to his absence.
“As much as Ollie is massively important to us I don’t see how him being on the pitch well it doesn’t stop any of those goals we’ve conceded [against Stevenage] let’s be clear,” he added.
“If Ollie comes back next week or the week after then all of a sudden we start winning. If that’s the case brilliant but I think it is more than that.
“You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that some players are struggling a little bit at the minute and finding it tough.
“That is the third game in five when we have conceded three goals and they are probably making the game look more difficult than it is. Whether that is a mentality thing or a confidence thing you need to overcome that.
“We are here to win and if you can’t deal with that or can’t do the things that are required to allow that to happen there obviously needs to be change.”