Sam Ricketts weighing up a possible Shrewsbury Town return for Shaun Whalley
Shrewsbury Town will weigh up handing Shaun Whalley a start in tonight’s EFL Trophy dead rubber to boost the winger’s fitness.
The influential attacker has been missing with a calf injury since October 3 but returned to the bench for Saturday’s FA Cup win at Cambridge United, where he was an unused sub, writes Lewis Cox.
Sam Ricketts takes his Town side to face League One rivals Crewe Alexandra this evening to decide who tops the group in the final group game of the Trophy, which is now sponsored by pizza company Papa John’s.
Town and Crewe have already qualified from Northern Group C of the competition, with both sides having seen off Bolton and Newcastle United Under-21s.
The Shrews boss has been careful to take no risks with Whalley’s return and the winger’s place on the bench last time out was only if required as a last resort.
Whalley, who scored Town’s first goal of the League One campaign, limped out in the first half of the 1-1 home draw against Gillingham and has been sidelined for eight matches since.
The untimely injury delayed Whalley reaching the landmark milestone of 200 games for Shrewsbury. The Liverpudlian would be just the third to do so since the club moved to Oteley Road in 2007, after Kelvin Langmead and Mat Sadler.
Ricketts said: “We’d all love Shaun to be ready and playing in every game. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do. He’s been a big miss, we’ve only had him for three-and-half league games.
“We’re desperate to get him back and ready for league games coming up. It’s a case of risk (versus) reward. He wants to play as much as he can but we have to make sure we don’t overdo anything and risk him for league games coming up.”
This evening’s tie, which is a 6pm kick-off at Gresty Road and goes straight to penalties for an extra point if the scores are level at 90 minutes, will decide who finishes top of the pile.
The side that finishes first has the advantage of a home draw in the round of 32 knockout clash, where they will face a runner-up of another northern group on December 8 or 9.
The draw is to take place towards the end of next week, after the concluding group stage fixtures.
The Railwaymen, managed by former Town defender David Artell, have enjoyed a decent return to League One. They sit 18th, four places and three points better off than Shrewsbury after 10 games.
The Town boss admitted he is likely to shuffle his pack for tonight’s tie with both sides already qualified.
Ricketts says he is looking for his stand-ins to catch the eye and pose selection conundrums for much bigger games ahead, notably Saturday’s home clash with fellow League One strugglers Swindon, who are currently managerless.
Salop will be without midfielder Brad Walker, scorer of a beauty in Saturday’s FA Cup success, and striker Jason Cummings, both who are suspended after collecting two yellow cards in the competition so far.
Dave Edwards is unlikely to feature having played most of the game at Cambridge on his return for two months out, but Whalley and Matt Millar could use the tie to get needed minutes into their legs.
Having Australian loanee Millar up to speed will come as a boost for Ricketts, as Shrewsbury will be without Marlon Fossey for at least two months. The young full-back is back completing the first part of his rehabilitation with parent club Fulham.
Crewe have former Town defenders Omar Beckles and Olly Lancashire in their ranks. The latter is pushing to return from a thigh problem. Former Shrews loan frontman Mikael Mandron has six goals for the Alex already this season, two in the EFL Trophy.
