Eagle-eyed Crawley Town fans would have spotted injured stars at Charlton Athletic - but pair are 'still a little bit off' from returning

But those who did spot Junior Quitirna and Dion Conroy doing drills on The Valley pitch shouldn’t get too excited just yet.

Fans have not seen Conroy since the Crystal Palace pre-season friendly while Quitirna last played in the 3-0 win over Lincoln City, where sustained a hamstring injury.

They are big misses for Crawley along with the other players who currently out including Jay Williams, Josh Flint and Ryan Sandford.

Harry Forster, who had been out with a dead leg for a few games, did return as substitute against Charlton, as did Rushian-Hepburn-Murphy, so there is some positive news for the Reds.

Reds boss Elliot said: “Junior and Dion were doing a bit of work on the pitch, which is great. They're still going to be a little bit off. My mentality with injuries is you don't want to risk someone. You don't want to rush someone back for one game and lose them for 10. We're so fortunate to have Ricky [McFarlane] and the lads here do what's right by the lads so when they're back, they're back for good.

“Dion has been unfortunate with the timing of his injuries, he is the club captain and he is huge for us.

There's lots of lads playing with niggles and things here and there. Toby Mullarkey's hurt his back, he was forced to miss the game at Charlton through suspension, but that gives him a week to prepare and get fit.

“It's one of them ones where we're always fragile as a squad because of the nature of this league and stepping up, but I think the lads on Saturday showed how robust they can be and how determined they can be.

“Ade Adeyemo hasn't played many games, but I thought he was exceptional playing the whole left side on his own on Saturday and the other night as well. It's just getting us to that point where we're robust at this level where we can go 90 minutes every single time.”

Reds face Stevenage on Saturday before travelling to Peterborough United a week late.