Rochdale head South this weekend with a squad depleted by injury, suspension and returning on loan players. Nathan Stanton is unavailable through suspension and with Dale Stephens and Simon Whaley returning to their respective clubs this week coupled with an injury list containing many players, we caught up with Dale physio Andy Thorpe to see if there was a little light at the end of the tunnel.

"Starting with the goalkeepers and the longer term casualty of the two, Matt Edwards.  We are looking at around six weeks before he can resume training. He has had a pin inserted in his wrist after we discovered a fracture and he's making good progress.

"Kenny Arthur has a problem with his back as everyone knows. It began prior to the Bournemouth game when he complained of backache and pins and needles down his leg. We sent him for a scan and it revealed a problem with a disc in his back popping out hitting the nerve and then going back in.  It's not as bad as a slipped disc because they stay out and keep pressure on the nerve but it still needs to be treated.  He'll be treated for a good few weeks yet and with back problems it is very difficult to give an accurate time scale for recovery but I expect him to be out for at least three weeks.

"Gary has had this problem with his hamstring for a while now and he has never really got rid of it fully. He is the sort of player who will play through anything and sometimes that isn't such a good thing.  He had recovered from the last tear which was higher up his thigh and now he has a fresh one lower down and I believe he's suffering from a little fatigue in the muscle and needs a period of rest.

"He's had a scan and that has revealed a grade one tear which is around three inches long though it's classed as a minor tear. He'll need a three or four weeks out of the side now to make sure the problem doesn't resurface again. We might have to hide his boots because he's already asking me what can we do to make it heal more quickly, but sadly rest is the best thing he can do at this moment in time and that is something he finds very difficult to do.

"Ciaran Toner has took everything on board and has shown a massive amount of patience. Shin splint injuries differ some settle down with a little rest others like Ciaran's need surgery. The muscle has been pulling on the skin membrane on the bone causing the shin splints and sadly rest didn't provide the cure. He had the muscle sliced away and then left to heal in a loose position so it doesn't actually pull. Then it just has to heal and that is the unfortunate thing about it because recovery time is around 12 weeks. He's back training now and it is just a case of getting his match fitness back again.

"Will Buckley twisted his ankle and had a little minor swelling with it but re-habbed very quickly. Within two weeks he was checking and turning and he had no reactions at all. He was happy to go back into training but he was feeling a little sore on the side of his foot which was a little unusual.We sent him for a scan and it has shown he has a little growth he was probably born with irritating the joint at the minute.It will settle down and that showed the other day when he played for 50 minutes and never had a problem with his ankle although he sadly picked up a thigh injury which is totally unconnected. That said he still has a 50/50 chance of playing on Saturday because he responds very well to treatment.

"Joe Thompson has a thigh strain which is more of a niggle than anything else. He did a lot of work with me on Wednesday and he is still feeling it. He's at the stage now where he's running out of days to be available for Saturday but he's close. He can run, turn and strike a ball but it's a little uncomfortable. He's about 90% right so it is just a question of can we get that extra 10% in time for Saturday?

"Adam Rundle is a strong contender for the weekend after doing the right thing and pulling out of the last game when he felt it tighten.He's missed the last game and responded well to treatment and went back training this week. We have really pushed him and he's suffered no reaction so he'll be available for selection."

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Andy in action helping a prone Dave Flitcroft in the 2001/02 season