AJ Leitch-Smith could return for Shrewsbury Town in Boxing Day clash
Shrewsbury Town hitman AJ Leitch-Smith may be in line for a Boxing Day return as Salop continue to monitor his troublesome knee.
The former Port Vale man has not featured since being forced off against his old side on November 26 and has endured a couple of fitness setbacks with the injury.
But Town – who returned to training yesterday following a short Christmas break – may be able to call upon the 26-year-old's services as boss Paul Hurst prepares for a tough trip to Bolton Wanderers.
Leitch-Smith enjoyed his best period of Shrewsbury form early in Hurst's tenure. The striker scored four goals in three games in November as Salop chalked up successive wins against Barnet, Middlesbrough and Oxford.
The Shrews chief also gave an update on defender Ryan McGivern's fitness. The defender came off with a serious shoulder injury at Millwall and is likely to be sidelined for another few weeks.
"AJ is the one we're still unsure of in terms of Boxing Day," said Hurst.
"Ryan McGivern will be out for a while longer yet so unless anything happens in training between now and then, the only one we should be missing through injury, at least, is Ryan."
The trip to Bolton will be Shrewsbury Town's first visit to the near 29,000 capacity all-seated Macron Stadium, previously known as the Reebok, which was a Premier League ground as recently as 2012.
Phil Parkinson's charges are third in League One. They were relegated from The Championship last term after finishing rock bottom.
Hurst will not be calling his players into training on Christmas Day, as is the tradition with some managers, but they will be in on Christmas Eve.
Shrewsbury could climb out of the third tier's bottom four with a point at the Macron.
On the return to training, the boss added: "They were back in yesterday just to get their legs moving but Thursday will be a real tough day.
"Friday and Saturday will be more about the preparation for the game at Bolton."
