Crossley set to boost Athletic
Reporter: Tony Bugby
Date published: 16 October 2008

MARK CROSSLEY: recovering from a back strain.
MARK CROSSLEY is winning his fitness battle for Athletic’s top-of-the-table clash against Leicester City at Boundary Park on Saturday.
The 39-year-old keeper was forced off at half time last Sunday against Hereford after suffering a back spasm.
Crossley, who has had a recent history of back problems, has responded well to treatment and is expected to be in the starting line-up.
Greg Fleming, who made his league debut for Athletic when he replaced Crossley on Sunday, is on stand-by should he be needed.
Manager John Sheridan has other defensive problems to resolve, though they are happily not injury related.
Sheridan’s dilemma will be which players to leave out of his back line as Sean Gregan is available after competing a three-match ban while Neal Eardley returns from international duty.
It is a poser for Sheridan as the back four of Kelvin Lomax, Daniel Jones, Richie Byrne and Reuben Hazell kept a clean sheet against Hereford on Sunday.
But the indications are that Gregan and Eardley will both return as Athletic aim to halt Leicester’s bid for a sixth consecutive away victory after successes at Cheltenham, Leyton Orient, Colchester, Huddersfield and Hartlepool.
The Foxes will be arriving at Boundary Park fresh from a two-week break as last Saturday’s game against Yeovil was postponed through international call ups.
Central defender Aleksander Tunchev is due back from World Cup duty with Bulgaria while Nicky Adams and Andy King were with Wales under-21s.
The midfield pair featured alongside Eardley as Wales were beaten by England in a two-legged play-off for a place in the final of next summer’s European Championships.
Leicester could also hand a recall to England under-21 full-back Joe Mattock who has recovered from an ankle injury.
The Foxes have sold 2,300 of their allocation of 2,800 tickets for Saturday’s match when home season-ticket holders will again have to transfer to the small section of the Leesfield Developments Rochdale Road stand.
There will be cash admission on the day and Athletic are set to have their biggest home gate of the season.
Athletic are waiting for the results of a scan which will determine the extent of the ankle ligament damage suffered by young defender Paul Black earlier this week in training.
It was initially feared Black, who is on loan at Barrow until January, had broken his ankle, but an x-ray showed that to not be the case.
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