Kevin Watson is only expecting one of his injured foursome back in the very near future, with Alex Lawless having trained this week.

Aswad Thomas and John Goddard are both sidelined by troublesome ankle injuries, with Goddard awaiting news about a possible operation, while Cody McDonald is still hard at work recovering from February’s ACL injury.

“Alex Lawless could be available for selection or be around the squad this weekend,” Watson said on Tuesday. “The other three not so much. Cody’s still a while away – obviously that ACL needs him to be working incredibly hard and he is doing just that. We were all in the gym on Monday given the adverse weather conditions and Cody was in. He’s determined but it’s not a quick one to come back from.”

Garry Hill had given McDonald a potential return date of late October but that was in the summer and the typical ACL recovery is anything from six months upwards to a full year in the most extreme cases.

And the two ankle-injury casualties are also some way off, reported Fleet’s interim manager.

“John Goddard is progressing,” said Watson. “There’s a possibility he may need an operation to shave away some rogue bone from his ankle but we’re waiting on that. Aswad’s return is the same, he’s got an ankle injury too and the timeline on a return for him is, well, how long’s a piece of string?

“The one closest to a return right now is Alex Lawless who has been back in training. He’s a good footballer and I’ll be delighted to have him back. But when you look around and you’ve got those four sitting behind you with coats on and not available, it’s frustrating given the amount of experience and games they’ve got collectively behind them and the fact they’re all very good footballers.

“But that’s football and we get on with it. They’re all very much part of the group and they’re in with everyone every day and I wish them a quick recovery so they can get back and help us in our fight.”