Christopher Long and Shilow Tracey are in a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s clash with Notts County -  but Joel Tabiner will stay sidelined for at least a fortnight.

That’s according to Assistant Manager Ryan Dicker, who said forwards Long (quad) and Tracey (hamstring) have not been ruled out of the clash with League Two’s second-placed side.

But midfielder Tabiner has received negative news on his ankle problem and is now targeting a return for the visit of Doncaster Rovers on November 25.

And Elliott Nevitt is in the treatment room after straining a thigh during the FA Cup draw with Derby County.

Charlie Finney returned to training today (Thursday) after shaking off a calf injury, but Jack Powell (knee), Zac Williams (ankle), Matus Holicek (groin) and Owen Lunt (back) remain unavailable.

Dicker said: “Where do I start? It's looking like the game will come too soon for Nev because he has tweaked his quad.

“Shilow and Longy are working really hard and have been in every day this week; they are trying to be involved in some capacity on Saturday. That would give us more strength in depth.

“Matus is in a similar position – but he has another week of rest to do before he can rejoin the squad in training. 

“On the positive side, Charlie Finney is back with us for the first time today so it will depend on how he reacts over the next couple of days. Owen Lunt is still struggling and remains out.”

He added: “The news isn’t as good as we hoped for with Joel. We got some (scan) results back on Monday and they were a setback.

“It’s not too major but he will miss Saturday - hopefully he will have a chance of being involved in the league game after that.”