Ryan's Forward Pack

ARGYLE manager Ryan Lowe will have a difficult task in selecting his two starting forwards for Saturday’s trip to Port Vale, with both Dom Telford and Joel Grant back in training and “fully fit.”

“The two of them are fully fit now, they can go right in if they’re selected – I haven’t got an issue with that,” said Lowe. “But, you’ve got players who are slugging it out there and performing well.”

While many managers might take their time to restore recovering players to the starting eleven, Lowe insists that both Telford and Grant will be ready if called upon at Vale Park.

The return to fitness, and subsequently, form, of striker Byron Moore is testament to that, with the former Bury and Bristol Rovers striker netting twice in his last two appearances, upon recovery from a similar muscle injury.

“Ryan Taylor’s been running around with a bit of a knock on his ankle, even though he’s missed two or three days of training,” said Lowe of his striking options. “Byron [Moore]’s come back, he’s scored two in two. Zak Rudden came on to the pitch on Saturday and gave everything, he was unfortunate not to score. So, those two now are in a pack of five – you can throw the cards up and see where it lands.”

While Telford and Grant might be raring to go, Lowe is playing the waiting game with central defender Will Aimson, whose recovery from a long-term pelvic injury stepped up again on Tuesday, in a Central League fixture against MK Dons in Buckinghamshire.

“They are fully fit - they can’t come into training unless they’re fully fit,” said Lowe. “Will [Aimson] was the only one who was a bit different, because he had the injury from last season; he was getting injections and we had to manage him right through.

“Dom and Joel have had muscle injuries, so once they’ve healed, they get up to speed with the physio and John Lucas [head of strength and conditioning] before they come into training. Their lungs might not be up to speed, but their bodies are.

“We wanted competition for places, we’ve got that. The strikers, now there’s hopefully two or three in that pack of five that can score 20 goals, and that’s what we want.”