Cambridge United to wait on fitness of Brad Halliday for Blackpool match
Injury updates from the U's
Shaun Derry will not rush Brad Halliday back into action too soon as Cambridge United prepare for the visit of Blackpool in Sky Bet League Two tomorrow.
The right-back has been in fine form this season, but has missed the last two games because of a knee injury.
But U’s boss Derry is determined not to bring Halliday back into the fold too quickly and risk losing the defender for a longer period.
“He has been struggling with a knee injury. He got the injury in a challenge in the Leyton Orient game,” said Derry.
“We’ve had to be very careful with it because to go and push him too quickly, I don’t want to be losing Brad for a long time.
“If he has to miss out another game then he has to miss out another game.
“We thought he would be getting pretty close for the Leeds game but we couldn’t take that gamble.
“From the injury itself, it was probably going to keep him out two or three weeks.”
He added: “I’m not going to rule him out (for the Blackpool match). He’s been a big player for us, he’s been a massive positive to the good run that we’ve been on.
“I think now, because of the amount of games that he’s played, he’s not going to lose any fitness so we have to give it until the last minute for Brad.”
But there is no imminent sign of a return for Adam McGurk.
He has been out of the side through a thigh injury since the defeat to Portsmouth in October.
“Adam is no closer to being ready,” said Derry. “What we have done is we’ve managed to really understand what the injury is all about, and I think that’s the key.
“It’s been a disruptive injury because it’s been an accumulation of a few things, not just the one.
“It’s poor for Adam, I feel for him. When you come into a new football club you want to contribute, and it probably doesn’t feel like he’s contributed too much this year.
“But there’s a player there and he will be back at the right time.”
He added: “It’s pretty complex, not in terms of career-threatening or anything like that, but you’ve got to be really careful how to treat this injury.
“So, in terms of the complexity of the injury, a lot of patience is needed. Patience not just for us but for Adam as well.
“But we’re getting there and starting to see the light now, which is great.”
