Why Chesterfield trio were missing against Bristol Rovers

Ryan Colclough, Ash Palmer and Bailey Clements were all missing from the 2-0 friendly loss at the Memorial Ground.

After the full-time whistle coach Danny Webb revealed Colclough has been ill, Bailey Clements has pulled a thigh muscle, but Ash Palmer is not far away from returning from a calf strain.

On Colclough, Webb told the DT: “He was ill. He will be in on Monday no doubt. It is nothing to worry about at all. He actually reported in on Friday wanting to travel but he still had a bit of a bug in him so the last thing we wanted was to spread illness through the camp a week before the season starts.”

Palmer, who has been missing for a couple of weeks, was seen doing some running pre-match.

Asked if the defender is edging closer to returning, Webb said:“Very much so. He is definitely training on Monday. There was a decision to be made about whether to put him on the bench today and we decided against that for the sake of 10-15 minutes and to have that final bit of work with the physio on the pitch and then Monday good to go.”

But unfortunately left-back Clements is going to be on the sidelines for a period of time.

Webb added: “He pulled his thigh in training the other day. We are still waiting for the results of the scan but it will be at least a couple of weeks sadly.”