Crewe Alex: Captain on road to recovery

By ggriffiths crewe alex gwyn griffiths

by Gwyn Griffiths

CREWE will be boosted by the early return from injury of Mat Mitchel-King – although their captain will not feature at League Two leaders Rochdale tomorrow (3pm).

There were fears the former Histon centre-half, who suffered ankle ligament damage in the victory over Darlington on January 23, could be sidelined for at least a month.

But the 26-year-old has made a good recovery and is on course for to feature in next Friday's match at Burton Albion.

Caretaker boss Dario Gradi has also hailed the return of midfielder James Bailey, who last played against Morecambe on November 14.

Bailey returned to training yesterday after at last appearing to have shaking off his persistent groin problems, but he is unlikely to be risked tomorrow.

Gradi said: "I will be pleased to have Mat fit again.

"He is due to train next week and James is further down the road to playing again."

The Alex manager may contemplate changes against Rochdale, with Tuesday night's goalscorer Shaun Miller a potential starter.

Miller's injury-time strike rescued a point against lowly Torquay, but didn't save his team-mates from the moans and groans of the Gresty Road fans.

But Gradi is convinced his side, who have now dropped to 15th in the table, are improving.

"We put together some super moves in the first half against Torquay.

"We've been working to get the players to pick out their man when they get to the byline.

"For example, John Brayford picked out Calvin (Zola) really well in the first half when we hit the post.

"But I've found it hard to play Shaun, although none of the strikers have convinced me.

"Calvin won a lot of headers. But you can take your pick with Shaun, Byron Moore or Clayton Donaldson to be honest."