Lunt says new midfield duo will not be risked at this stage.

Kenny Lunt has reiterated that the club won’t look to rush back new midfielders, Connor Thomas and Charlie Colkett, but that he wants the duo to be fit and available for the opener at Rochdale at the end of the month or certainly soon after.

Both of the club’s summer signings have suffered with calf injuries after returning to pre-season training but both players are improving and are expected to resume training in the not too distant future. Colkett has stepped up his running and is closer than his teammate at this stage.

Lunt told the club’s official website: “We expect Connor and Charlie to be back with us soon but we want them to be 100% fit. We are all looking forward to seeing them play, as I am sure the supporters are.

“As soon as they are ready then they will come back into it. We are not going to risk them unnecessarily at this stage because we don’t want them to train and break down again and be out for longer when the games are more important because the season has started.

“The most important thing is to make sure they can be fit and available for the opening game of the season at Rochdale. Once we start the season we want as many of our players to be fit for us because it is always a demanding start playing two games a week with the cup matches as well.”