Shrewsbury Town trio back to boost Paul Hurst's options
Shrewsbury Town chief Paul Hurst is relishing the chance to select from a stronger squad as his side bid to return to winning ways.
Salop's second of three games in eight days sees them travel to high-flying Rochdale tomorrow night but Hurst will have a far healthier selections of players to call upon at Spotland.
Suspended trio Gary Deegan, Ivan Toney and skipper Adam El-Abd all return from two-match suspensions.
Hurst cursed his fortune as all three were forced to sit out the clashes with Bristol Rovers and Bolton, with Deegan and Toney collecting their 10th yellow cards of the campaign and El-Abd a second dismissal in the FA Cup defeat at Fleetwood.
But, added to the return to fitness of Shaun Whalley – who may be in line for a start – and Joe Riley, who is stepping up his fitness levels, Town have more options to call upon.
Hurst said: "Moving forward now I've got some decisions to make, which is nice because there weren't too many decisions to make going into the Bristol Rovers game. I felt the lads deserved to go out that way again and it suited the way we wanted to play but now I do have some decisions.
"Somewhere along the line there'll be some disappointed people, whether that's the ones that have missed out recently through suspensions or the ones that have come in and done well.
"There's certainly some thinking to do."
Hurst named just five substitutes during the home FA Cup tie with Fleetwood on December 3, while the last two benches against Rovers and at Bolton have contained scholarship duo Ryan Barnett and Ryan Sears.
The Greenhous Meadow side are still expected to be without AJ Leitch-Smith and Ryan McGivern, whose knee and shoulder injuries are set to keep them sidelined for a while longer yet.
"Without wanting to sound too negative if you'd have given me three points before it (games against Bristol and Bolton with suspensions) then I'd have taken them from you," Hurst added. "That's my honest answer."
