Bristol Rovers boss Trollope without key trio for Saints clash

Bristol Rovers will be without loan duo Mikkel Andersen and Chris Dickson – and also the injured Aaron Lescott – for Friday's FA Cup clash with Southampton.

And that means boss Paul Trollope will be forced to reshuffle his side as the Pirates look to end their five-game losing run in the first round tie against the Saints.

Goalkeeper Andersen and striker Dickson have both been refused permission to play by their respective parent clubs, Reading and Charlton, because they do not want the players cup tied.

Bristol Rovers fear Lescott could be sidelined for weeks after aggravating a niggling groin problem in their weekend defeat at MK Dons.

Trollope said: "Neither Mikkel or Chris are being allowed to play in the FA Cup by their parent clubs, which is obviously not ideal as they have played in most of the games in recent weeks.

"These sort of things are always possibilities when you take on loan players, but it will bring opportunities for others and hopefully they can take their chances.

"Aaron will also be missing and is going to see a specialist this week. He has had an ongoing groin problem which has gradually been getting worse.

"We gave him a bit of time off before the Southend game and although it settled down slightly, he is now feeling it during games.

"We are concerned that it could turn into a long-term issue so we are going to take him out of it for a while and see what the specialist says.

"It's certainly something we need to be careful with so he is likely to be out for a matter of weeks rather than days."

Rhys Evans is expected to take over between the posts for Friday's showdown at the Memorial Stadium, while Darryl Duffy could replace Dickson – although the Charlton man started on the bench at the weekend with Trollope switching to a 4-5-1 formation.

Jeff Hughes, who took on a more central midfield role last weekend, would give the manager an option at left-back.

Bristol Rovers are hoping central defender Danny Coles will get the green light to resume training this week after seeing a specialist about his knee injury yesterday.

"Danny's swelling has settled down nicely and he is upbeat and confident about it and optimistic it's not a long-term thing," said Trollope.

"Hopefully we'll see him back in action before long. Whether it's Friday, we're not sure – he's probably 50-50 for that game."

Bristol Rovers keeper Steve Phillips has joined Crewe Alexandra for an initial two-month loan deal with a view to a permanent move.

The experienced former Bristol City shot-stopper has spent the last two months on loan with Shrewsbury after seeing his long run as Rovers' first-choice come to an end this season.

"Steve's loan spell at Shrewsbury has finished and he signed a two-month loan deal with Crewe, which will take him through to the January transfer window," said Trollope.

"Crewe have expressed an interest in turning it into a permanent deal, but there is nothing concrete yet. Discussions will be ongoing over the next few months about the details, but it is with a view to a permanent move."