Mansfield Town midfielder Hiram Boateng is set to feature in tomorrow night’s Papa Johns Trophy encounter at home to Derby County, first team coach Andy Garner said today.
The 26-year-old has been sidelined for a month with a hamstring problem, last playing against Sutton United on 27 August.
The former MK Dons man could be amongst a hatful of changes from the 2-2 draw against Hartlepool in Sky Bet League Two on Friday night.
“[He’s] [Hiram Boateng] training today obviously. We’ll see how he goes today and I think he's pencilled in to start,” said Andy Garner, speaking to iFollow Stags at a news conference this morning.
Kellan Gordon, meanwhile, has been ruled out with a groin problem.
“Kells has a bit of a sore groin that was a little bit sore on Friday as well.
“That's one of the reasons why we took him off.
“He won't train today and we will assess him tomorrow.”
The coach reflected on Friday’s stalemate with the Pools, which saw George Lapslie and Riley Harbottle put the Stags ahead, only for Hartlepool striker Joshua Umerah to climb off the bench and hit a brace to rescue a point for the County Durham side.
“Obviously we’ve had all weekend to think about it but we’re still disappointed.
“When you’re 2-0 up, 20 minutes to go, you expect to win the game.
“We made two mistakes in the whole 90 minutes and this time we didn't get away with it. Sometimes you do get away with it. We haven't on this [occasion].
“We’re disappointed obviously; players, fans, staff, manager, but [it's] Monday morning [and] we’ve got to get on with it and move on.
“At the end of the day, we have to take a point. We’ve dropped two points really. That’s what happens when you make mistakes.
“We say before the game, ‘don't take any chances if you don't need to. Don't take any risks’.
“We concede that goal [to make it 2-1 and] they have a little bit of life again. They can see that they’ve maybe got something in the game and we get a little bit nervy.
“Hopefully they learn from it.”
When asked about Stags’ approach in the Trophy against Derby tomorrow, Andy said: “Our approach will be trying to win the football match. It's a big week for us.
“I think sometimes when you get over the disappointment of getting a point on Friday night and have a game straight away on Tuesday, that's good.
“The lads are looking forward to that and it's a game that we want to win.”
