Peterborough United sweat over fitness of key defender ahead of Walsall tie

Nevett was forced off at the break during Peterborough's 2-0 defeat at Premier League outfit Everton last Thursday due to a hamstring problem. 

Captain Hector Kyprianou was also withdrawn as a precaution after 65 minutes, with the Cyprus international nursing a minor hamstring issue in the build-up to the game. 

"George was feeling tightness in his hamstring. He felt he could have carried on, but I can't risk it, not in a game game like this," boss Darren Ferguson revealed via Peterborough Telegraph.

"Hector was always going to not play a full game because he felt a little bit of tightness in his hamstring after Wrexham, so I had to be careful. It was a plan." 

Peterborough lifted the trophy in April last year after beating Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 at Wembley Stadium but are surprisingly slogging it out at the wrong end of League One this term. 

A wretched run of seven defeats in nine games has seen Posh, who had finished in the play-offs in both of the previous two seasons, plummet into 20th-place and to within just five points of the drop zone. 

Despite falling to defeat in Merseyside, Everton took until the 98th-minute to double their lead when Iliman Ndiaye converted from the spot. 

And midfielder Archie Collins is optimistic that Peterborough can take confidence from their performance into the coming games. 

"On another day the game goes a different way, but the experience of playing in a great stadium was good and won't do us any harm," Collins added.

"Games are coming at a rapid rate in January so we need to carry this form into the league."