Newport County’s testing injury list is beginning to relent and manager Nelson Jardim could not be happier.
After Friday’s home game against Chesterfield, Newport face a run of five League Two games and a daunting FA Cup home tie with League One Peterborough.
“It’s ruthless and a relentless league and we need almost two squads to be competitive in every game in this period,” said Jardim.
“We knew October we had these fixtures with a cup game coming, it’s going to be busy, we need all of them they know that.”
With goalkeeper Nick Townsend and Wales under-21 defender Matt Baker set to return from international duty to face the Spireites, Jardim also has left sided defender Anthony Glennon available again after suspension.
An added bonus is the return to first team reckoning of former Haverfordwest and Penybont midfielder Kai Whitmore, who has been sidelined since August with a calf injury after a promising opening to the campaign.
Jamie Miley is close to returning after a hernia operation, having had just one Football League Trophy outing against Cheltenham since he joined on loan from Newcastle United in the summer.
And adventurous defender Shane McLoughlin is edging closer to fitness having been ruled out with a knee injury sustained in the home defeat by Port Vale, on September 7.
Hamzad Kargbo, who needed shoulder surgery after a short cameo appearance as a substitute in the season opener at Cheltenham, is also a few weeks away.
Jardim is now faced with selection dilemmas, particularly in the defensive ranks.
Chesterfield are unbeaten in their last five league encounters, drawing four of those, but the one win in that sequence was a 3-0 victory at Doncaster Rovers.
In fact they have lost just one of their last eight league and cup encounters.
But they will be without former Newport player Tom Naylor, who is suspended after collecting five bookings. Naylor made 40 appearances on loan at Newport from Derby in the Exiles’ first season back in the Football League.
He has started every League Two game for last season’s National League champions this season.
Jardim said: “Chesterfield are a strong, strong club pushing for promotion. They have started very well, they have a good squad, a good drilled team.”