Notts County could be set to receive a vital double injury boost over the next week or so, with both George Abbott and Alex Bass on the verge of a return to first-team action.
Abbott missed the defeat at Colchester United last weekend, having sustained a slight knock in the midweek victory over MK Dons, while first-choice goalkeeper Bass has been sidelined since he was forced off early in the win at Grimsby on 11th March.
Now though, Stuart Maynard has revealed that the pair are closing in on a return to the matchday squad, in what could be a huge boost for their promotion push.
The positive news on the duo has come at the perfect time for Maynard’s side, with a crucial ‘six pointer’ against Bradford City on the horizon next week, after Notts take on Salford City on Friday night.
George Abbott and Alex Bass are set to return to the squad
The Magpies’ promotion hopes were dented last weekend when they were beaten by Colchester, but they have re-vitalised their bid for automatic promotion in recent weeks.
A run of seven points out of nine before that defeat in Essex helped to get Maynard’s men back on track and with games against both Bradford and Doncaster still to come, they have plenty of opportunities to lay claim to one of the top three spots.
Perhaps the only positive from that Colchester reverse was the return of star man Jodi Jones from injury and now Notts look set to welcome another pair of key men back into the fold.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of their clash with Salford on Friday night, Maynard confirmed that both Abbott and Bass will return imminently. He also touched on Jones’ comeback, stressing the importance of ensuring he doesn’t suffer a re-occurrence of the injury.
Maynard said: “Jodi (Jones) has been training so it’s good to build his minutes. We’ve got to be mindful and we can’t just throw him in at the deep end and risk a potential re-occurrence of his injury.
“Alex is on track, he’s back on the grass and he’s got a chance. It’s not even week by week with Bassy now, we’ve just got to go day by day. He’s doing really well and each day we tick off, he gets closer to coming back.
“George Abbott is in contention as well for Friday night.”
While Maynard didn’t reveal whether the pair could feature in the Salford game, with a trip to Valley Parade Notts’ next assignment, this update really couldn’t have come at a better time.
Notts have defended superbly over recent weeks, and it’s kept their dream of a League One return alive.
While Abbott will potentially have missed just one game (if he returns on Friday night), his presence was certainly sorely missed in that Colchester encounter.
The Magpies lacked the energy and dynamism that he has brought to them all season. The Tottenham loanee has been one of the fourth tier’s standout performers over the course of his stint at Meadow Lane.
His importance to this Notts side really cannot be understated – Abbott has failed to start in just five of their 38 league games since his debut against Swindon back in August.
He has also added a threat in and around the opposition box, with four goals and five assists to his name now, a tally which includes several stunning strikes from distance.
| George Abbott League Two 24/25 (as per Fotmob) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists |
| 35 | 4 | 5 |
Meanwhile, Bass, who had previously been expected to be sidelined until the end of the campaign, has been one of the club’s signings of the season.
The 27-year-old kept the second-highest number of clean sheets in the league during a loan spell at Wimbledon last season, and he has maintained that form extremely well at Meadow Lane.
The former Sunderland and Portsmouth shot-stopper brings a calmness to Notts’ backline, but also commands his area extremely well, something which has contributed heavily to his team’s drastically improved defensive record this term.
Backup ‘keeper Sam Slocombe has deputised well in recent weeks, keeping three clean sheets in a row recently, but Bass’ return could not have come at a better time with the Bradford game approaching.
Graham Alexander’s men have the division’s best home record by some distance and have attracted crowds of over 20,000 in recent weeks, making this one of the toughest tests Notts will face all season.
But if Abbott and Bass are both back in the team for that clash, the Nottingham outfit have reason to be hopeful that they can get a result.
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