Latest on Armstrong and Gilliead injuries ahead of Blues' Easter games

Luke Armstrong looks set to miss Carlisle United’s Easter games as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Blues head coach Mark Hughes admitted the influential striker was “unlikely” to play any part against Gateshead and Morecambe.

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Midfielder Alex Gilliead is also not certain to be fit for Friday’s game as he battles to overcome a hip/glute problem.

Hughes is assessing his options for the Bank Holiday weekend’s double header after both Armstrong and Gilliead went off injured in last Saturday’s victory at Braintree Town.

Hughes stressed that Armstrong’s injury was not a long-term matter and he would hopefully be back in “ten to 12 days”.

“Luke will probably miss both the Easter weekend games, I would feel, just to allow him a little bit of time to settle his hamstrings down,” said Hughes.

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“He had a similar situation around Christmas time and only missed one game so we're hopeful that's going to be more of the same – so we'll just try and protect him a little bit.

“We know what's going on [with the injury], so we're comfortable with where he's at. He just needs a few more days, [which means it’s] a little bit soon for him to play at the weekend, unfortunately.”

Midfielder Gilliead has not been ruled out of Friday’s game with Gateshead but said he “might” miss out, pending further assessment on Thursday.

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“Gilly was just having an uncomfortable feeling in his hip and around his glute area, and couldn't release it, couldn't loosen it off, so we took him off as a precaution,” said Hughes.

“Both of the guys we're mentioning [Armstrong and Gilliead] are really key to how we play and what we do, so we're trying to protect those key individuals in the team at the moment.”

Hughes said Charlie Wyke could return to the squad this weekend but Georgie Kelly is not yet ready to make his comeback from a calf injury.

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The Irish frontman is, though, expected back soon.

“We would expect him to get this weekend out of the way and then be available after that,” said Hughes, who added that Elliot Embleton and Josh Williams would also be back soon.

Another player set to miss out this weekend, meanwhile, is teenage defender Hayden Atkinson, who is fighting to overcome the groin problem that ruled him out of action at Braintree.

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“Hayden's just got a little bit of an issue and that just needs to settle down,” said Hughes.

“We’re conscious that he’s a young man just coming into the side and he's done really well.

“But he's just had a little niggle that he's been managing, not only since he's gone into the first team but leading into his time with the senior team as well.

“So it's probably just a consequence of playing senior football and just the amount of games that he's had.

“He's probably still growing as well. He's about 6ft 3in now, so God knows how big he is going to grow…but it’s all tied into that. So we're trying to protect him as well.”

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