Billy Clarke out of Brentford clash

Crawley top scorer Billy Clarke has been ruled out of this Saturday’s League One match against Brentford at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.
Billy Clarke - picture by Jon RigbyBilly Clarke - picture by Jon Rigby
Billy Clarke - picture by Jon Rigby

The forward has missed Reds’ last four matches with bone bruising and ligament damage in his knee, and today (Thursday) boss Richie Barker confirmed he was out of contention for the weekend.

Barker said: “He did some training today but not all of it so he certainly won’t be available for Saturday.

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“The bone bruising is not as bad as we first thought but the ligament is worse than we first thought.

“It can be treated, but obviously there’s an issue with fitness now because he’s been out nearly a month now. But he’s a fit lad and he looks after himself well so shouldn’t take him long.”

Clarke has been running and doing gym work this week and will now set his sights on a return to the squad on Tuesday for the rearranged trip to Bristol City.

The rest of the squad all came through a wet week of training as Reds try to halt a mini run of two straight League One defeats against a much-fancied Brentford side who have won their last three.