Rangers nursing Ben Mills to fitness

Stafford Rangers are hoping to use their enforced break from action to get striker Ben Mills back to full fitness from a new injury.

The 21-year-old missed Saturday's disappointing 4-0 defeat at Hinckley with a thigh strain, with Nick Wellecomme starting in his place for his first 90 minutes after six weeks out with an ankle injury.

However, Mills has not re-injured the right thigh muscle which forced him to miss four games earlier in the season, but aggravated the left muscle instead, possibly by over-rehabbing the original problem.

The forward will sit out training tonight an receive further treatment, in the hope he can play an active part in Thursday's session.

Rangers have also bid goodbye to loan duo Harry Davis and Kelvin Mellor, who have returned to Crewe after not being called upon for the Hinckley game, with neither expected back at Marston Road.

A two-week break from matches may give Mills a chance to recover but it will only add a fortnight to the frustrations of defender Jermaine Johnson, who is expecting a five-game ban after picking up his second red card in two games on Saturday, which will rule him out until next month.

But assistant boss Steve Wynn is preferring to concentrate on the things management can control, namely nursing Mills back to fitness.

The Rangers No 2 said: "We are hoping that Ben will be OK by the next match, because not playing him at Hinckley was more of a precaution than anything else.

"Obviously we haven't got a game this weekend, so we are not going to try to rush him back. We will see how he is and he's effectively got two weeks to get himself fit now.

"He will be assessed tomorrow night and, hopefully, he will able to join in a full training session with the lads on Thursday."