Lines relieved to escape horror tackle without serious injury

Chris Lines believes he's fortunate to even be in contention for Bristol Rovers' trip to MK Dons today.

The omens did not look good for the midfielder when he left the field on a stretcher just before the interval in last weekend's 2-1 defeat by Yeovil Town at the Memorial Stadium.

The Bristolian was consequently forced to sit out Tuesday's 4-0 demolition by Leeds United – the first time he has failed to start a Pirates game in 2009.

But Lines says the damage inflicted on his leg by a bad challenge from Glovers' midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala last weekend – which earned the Frenchman a booking – could have been a whole lot worse.

"I think I was pretty lucky to get away with it because from my point of view it was a really bad tackle – thankfully it's nowhere near as bad as it could have been," said Lines.

"I had quite a cut where his studs missed my shin pad and the impact from the blow gave me a dead leg around my calf.

"I was struggling to walk properly for the first few days this week but it has eased off now and I hope I can be involved against MK Dons."

Lines has become a virtually ever-present member of the squad over the last couple of seasons and admitted watching his team-mates being outplayed by the League One leaders in midweek was another painful experience.

"That's the first time I've had to sit in the stand and watch for a few years now and it was frustrating not being able to get out on the pitch and do anything about what was happening," he said.

"Leeds were playing so well and destroying us in certain areas at times. I think from what we have already seen of them they will win the league pretty easily.

"I thought we did quite well in the first half and it looked like we'd scored when Stuart Campbell's shot hit the bar and came down. From where I was sitting, it looked like the ball had gone in.

"But Leeds showed their quality in the second half."

Bristol Rovers will be glad to see the back of October – a month which delivered four straight defeats.

"We got a lot of wins in a row earlier in the season and now things have gone the other way," said Lines. "When you lose 5-1 away and then 4-0 at home a few weeks later, you are obviously going to be feeling a bit down.

"But we are still sixth in the table and in the play-off zone and if that's where we are at the end of the season – which is what we are aiming for – then it will be a massive improvement on what we have achieved before.

"People have to remember there are some massive clubs in this division and teams like Leeds and Charlton seem to be winning virtually every week.

"We have to remember we're still up there for a reason, and that's because we had a good start to the season. Now we need to get back to how we were playing when we got those results."

Rovers are reminding season ticket-holders that they have until 5pm on Monday to claim their seats for Friday's FA Cup clash with Southampton.